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LITTLE     SUNBEAMS. 


VI. 
NELLIE'S    HOUSEKEEPING, 


> 


§S  %  Qvfyox  0f  tfris  Itoltraie. 


i. 

LITTLE   SUNBEAMS. 

By  Joanna  H.  Mathews,  Author  of  the   "  Bessie 
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IV.  Jessie's  Parrot 1.00 

V.  Mamie's  Watchword 1.00 

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ROBERT  CARTER  AND  BROTHERS, 

New  York 


NELLIE'S 


HOUSEKEEPING. 


1  Be  good,  sweet  child,  and  let  who  will  be  eleven 
Do  noble  things,  not  dream  them,  all  day  long; 
So  shalt  thou  make  life,  death,  and  that  vast  for  ever, 
One  grand,  sweet  song."  —  Kin gsley. 


BY 

JOANNA   H.  MATHEWS, 

ADTHOB  OB"  THE  "  BESSIE  BOOKS  "  AND  THE  "  FLOWERETS.* 


NEW    YORK: 

KOBERT  CARTER  AND  BROTHERS, 

530  Bkoadwat. 

1882. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1872,  by 

ROBERT  CARTER  AND  BROTHERS, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


CONTENTS. 


P 


PAfcUS 

I.  Hard  at  Work 7 

II.  A  Talk  with  Papa .  25 

III.  Nellie  a  Housekeeper 50 

IV.  A  Courtship 70 

V.  White  Mice 94 

VI.  The  Gray  Mice 113 

VII.  The  Black  Cat 136 

VIII.  Daisy's  Sacrifice 157 

IX.  Making  Ginger-cakes 181 

X.  Fresh  Troubles 204 

XI.  A  Night  of  it 224 

XII.  An  Alarm 236 

XIII.  Last  of  the  Sunbeams 245 


&%&&*& 


NELLIE'S    HOUSEKEEPING. 


I. 


MARD  AT  WORK. 


ELL1E,  will  you  come  down  to  the 
beach  now  ?  " 

"  No !  "  with  as  much  shortness 
and  sharpness  as  the  little  word  of  two  letters 
could  well  convey. 
"  Why  not  ?  " 

"  Oh  !  because  I  can't.     Don't  bother  me." 

And,  laying  down  the  pencil  with  which  she 

had  been  writing,  Nellie  Ransom  pushed  back 

the  hair  from  her  flushed,  heated  face,  drew  a 

long,  weary  sigh,  took  up  the  Bible  which  lay 


8  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

at  her  elbow,  and,  turning  over  the  leaf,  ran 
her  finger  slowly  and  carefully  down  the  page 
before  her. 

Carrie  stood  with  one  elbow  upon  the  corner 
of  the  table  at  which  her  sister  sat,  her  chin 
resting  in  her  palm  as  she  discontentedly 
watched  Nellie,  while  with  the  other  hand  she 
swung  back  and  forth  by  one  string  the  broad 
straw  hat  she  was  accustomed  to  wear  when 
playing  out  of  doors. 

"  I  think  you  might,"  she  said  presently. 
"  Mamma  says  I  can't  go  if  you  don't,  and  I 
want  to  go  so." 

"  I  can't  help  it,"  said  Nellie,  still  without 
taking  her  eyes  from  her  Bible.  u  I  wish  you'd 
stop  shaking  the  table  so." 

"  How  soon  will  you  come  ?  "  persisted  Car- 
rie, taking  her  elbow  from  the  table. 

"  When  I'm  ready,  and  not  before,"  snapped 
Nellie.     "  I  wish  you'd  let  me  alone." 

Carrie  began  to  cry. 

"  It's  too  bad,"  she  whimpered.  "  Mamma 
says,  if  I  go  at  all,  I  must  go  early,  so  as  to  bo 


Hard  at  Work.  9 

back  before  sundown,  'cause  my  cold  is  so 
bad.  There  won't  be  any  time  for  me  to 
play." 

Nellie  made  no  answer,  but,  having  found 
what  she  wanted  in  her  Bible,  began  to  write 
again,  copying  from  the  page  of  the  Holy  Book 
before  her. 

Presently  Carrie,  forgetting  her  caution, 
tossed  down  her  hat,  and  pettishly  plumped 
both  elbows  upon  the  table,  muttering, — 

"  I  think  you're  real  mean." 

"  Stop  shaking  the  table,  or  I  won't  go  at 
all,"  said  Nellie,  in  a  loud,  irritable  tone. 
"  Ask  mamma  to  let  Ruth  take  you." 

"  She  can't  spare  Euth,  she  says.  The  baby 
is  fretful,  and  she  don't  feel  well  enough  to 
take  care  of  it  herself;  and  I  think  you  might 
go  with  me.  I  haven't  been  to  the  beach  for 
four  days,  because  I  was  sick,"  pleaded  Carrie, 
wiping  the  tears  from  her  eyes. 

"  Well,  I'm  too  busy  to  go  now.  You'll 
have  to  wait  until  I'm  ready,"  said  Nellie. 
"I'll  come  by  and  by." 


IO  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

"  By  and  by  will  leave  hardly  any  time," 
said  Carrie,  with  a  wistful  glance  out  upon  the 
lawn,  where  the  shadows  were  already  grow- 
ing long. 

No  answer ;  only  the  rustle  of  Nellie's  sheet 
of  paper  as  she  turned  it  over. 

Carrie  wandered  restlessly  about  the  room  for 
a  moment  or  two ;  then,  coming  back  to  the 
table,  began  idly  to  turn  over  some  loose  papers 
which  lay  at  Nellie's  right  hand. 

Nellie  snatched  them  from  her. 

"  Now,  look  here,"  she  said,  "  if  you  don't 
go  away  and  let  me  and  my  things  alone,  I 
won't  go  to  the  beach  at  all.  You  hinder  me 
all  the  time,  and  I  won't  be  so  bothered." 

"  Cross,  hateful  thing!  "  said  Carrie,  passion- 
ately. "  I  don't  b'lieve  you  mean  to  go  at  all. 
I  wish  I  had  a  better  sister  than  you." 

Nellie  turned  once  more  to  the  Bible,  but 
deigned  no  answer  to  this  outburst. 

Carrie  looked  back  from  the  door,  which  she 
had  reached  on  her  way  from  the  room,  and 
said  in  a  tone  one  shade  less  furious  than  her 
last,  — 


Hard  at  Work.  II 

"  You're  always  poking  over  your  Bible  now, 
but  it  don't  seem  to  teach  you  to  be  kind.  You 
grow  crosser  and  crosser  every  day;  and 
you're  not  one  bit  like  you  used  to  be." 

"  Carrie !  "  called  Mrs.  Ransom's  gentle 
voice  from  the  next  room ;  and  Carrie  van- 
ished, leaving  Nellie,  as  she  had  said  she 
wished  to  be,  alone. 

Did  her  work  go  smoothly  after  that  ? 

Not  very,  at  least  for  a  few  moments.  Per- 
haps mamma  had  heard  all  that  had  passed, 
and  Nellie  did  not  feel  quite  satisfied  that  she 
should  have  done  so.  What  had  she  said  to 
Carrie?  She  could  hardly  recollect  herself, 
so  divided  had  been  her  attention  between  her 
little  sister  and  the  task  before  her ;  but  she 
was  quite  certain  that  she  had  been  "  cross," 
and  spoken  to  Carrie  in  an  unkind  manner, 
apart  from  her  refusal  to  accompany  the  child, 
who,  she  well  knew,  had  been  confined  to  the 
house  for  the  last  few  days,  and  deprived  of 
her  usual  play  and  exercise  in  the  open  air. 

But  then  Carrie  might  just  as  well  have 


12  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

waited  patiently  a  few  moments  till  she  was 
ready  to  go,  and  not  bothered  her  so.  She 
would  go  presently  when  she  had  looked  out 
three — well,  no  —  five — six  more  verses,  and 
written  them  out ;  and  once  more  she  took  up 
the  Bible. 

But  the  words  before  her  eyes  mingled 
themselves  with  those  which  were  sounding  in 
her  ears. 

"  Not  like  she  used  to  be !  Crosser  and 
crosser  every  day !  " 

Ah !  none  knew  tins  better  than  Nellie  her- 
self, and  yet  she  strove,  or  thought  she  did, 
against  the  growing  evil. 

Well,  there  was  no  use  thinking  about  it 
now.  She  would  finish  the  task  she  had  set 
herself,  call  Carrie,  make  it  up  with  her,  and 
go  to  the  beach. 

And  once  more  she  was  absorbed  in  her 
work,  in  spite  of  aching  head  and  burning 
cheeks,  —  so  absorbed  that  she  did  not  heed  how 
time  was  passing,  did  not  heed  that  the  six 
verses  had  grown  into  ten,  until,  as  sne  was 


Hard  at  Work.  13 

searching  for  the  eleventh,  the  last  golden 
rajs  of  the  sun  fell  across  her  paper,  and,  look- 
ing up  quickly,  she  saw  that  he  was  just  sink- 
ing in  the  far  west.  Too  late  for  Carrie  to  go 
out  now !  The  poor  child  had  lost  her  after- 
noon stroll.  Oh,  she  was  so  sorry!  How 
could  she  forget? 

Hastily  shutting  the  Bible  and  pushing  it 
from  her,  she  gathered  up  her  papers,  thrust 
them  into  her  writing-desk,  and  turned  the 
key,  ran  into  the  hall  for  her  hat,  and  went  in 
search  of  Carrie. 

Where  was  she?  She  had  not  heard  the 
child's  voice  since  she  left  her  in  such  a  tem- 
per, nor  had  she  heard  Daisy's.  Probably  the 
two  little  sisters  had  found  some  other  way  of 
amusing  themselves,  and  Carrie  would  have 
forgotten  her  disappointment.  Well,  she 
would  be  sure  to  give  her  a  good  play  on  the 
beach  to-morrow. 

Where  could  the  children  be  ?  For,  as  Nel- 
lie thought  this  to  herself,  she  was  looking  in 
all  the  places  where  they  were  usually  to  be 


14  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

found,  but  they  were  nowhere  to  be  seen.  She 
called  in  vain  about  house  and  garden;  no 
childish  voice  answered. 

"  I  suppose  Carrie  is  provoked  with  me,  and 
won't  speak  to  me,  and  won't  let  Daisy,"  she 
said  to  herself.  "  Well,  I'm  sure  I  don't 
care." 

But  she  did  care,  though  she  would  not 
acknowledge  it  to  herself ;  and  she  sat  down 
upon  the  upper  step  of  the  porch,  and  watched 
the  last  rosy  sunset  tints  fading  out  of  the 
soft  clouds  overhead,  with  a  restless,  discon- 
tented feeling  at  her  heart.  The  stillness  and 
the  beauty  of  the  scene  did  not  seem  to  bring 
peace  and  rest  to  her  troubled  little  soul. 

And  why  was  it  troubled  ? 

Because  for  days  past  —  nay,  for  weeks  past 
—  Nellie  had  been  conscious  of  an  increas- 
ing ill-humor  and  irritability,  —  "  crosser  and 
crosser  every  day,"  —  yes,  that  was  it;  but 
why  was  it  ?  She  did  not  know,  she  could  not 
help  it ;  she  was  sure  she  tried  hard  enough  ; 
and  every  night  and  morning,  when  she  said 


Hard  at  Work,  15 

her  prayers  and  asked  not  to  be  "led  into 
temptation,"  she  always  thought  particularly 
of  the  temptation  to  be  cross,  for  that  seemed 
what  she  had  to  struggle  with  in  these 
days. 

That,  and  one  other  thing. 

Nellie  tried  to  put  that  other  ugly  failing 
out  of  sight,  would  not  believe  that  she  was 
guilty  of  it ;  and  yet  it  would  come  before  her 
sometimes,  as  it  did  now  ;  and  as  she  thought 
of  little  kindnesses,  even  little  duties  unper- 
formed and  neglected,  she  wondered  if  she 
were  really  growing  selfish. 

She  should  so  hate  to  be  selfish. 

And  yet — and  yet  —  people  were  always 
asking  her  to  do  favors  at  such  inconvenient 
times,  when  she  was  so  busy  ;  and  somehow 
she  was  always  busy  now.  There  was  so  much 
she  wanted  to  do ;  so  much  to  accomplish 
this  summer,  before  she  returned  to  the  city 
and  to  school ;  and  she  did  not  like  to  be  inter- 
rupted when  she  was  reading  or  studying. 
It  was  so  hard  to  put  her  mind  to  it  again, 


1 6  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

and  she  was  sure  it  was  right  to  try  to  improve 
herself  all  she  could. 

The  click  of  the  gate-latch  roused  her  from 
her  troublesome  thoughts ;  and,  looking  around, 
she  saw  her  mother  crossing  the  lawn,  Carrie 
holding  her  hand  and  walking  quietly  by  her 
side,  Daisy  jumping  and  skipping  before  them. 

Daisy  was  always  skipping  and  jumping. 
What  a  happy,  merry  little  thing  she  was! 
never  still  one  moment,  except  when  she  was 
asleep,  and  not  always  so  very  still  then,  little 
roll-about  that  she  was  ! 

But  where  had  they  all  been  ? 

The  toys  the  children  had  with  them  soon 
answered  this  question,  for  Daisy  was  pulling  a 
wagon  which  had  been  filled  with  stones  and 
shells.  The  most  part  of  these,  however, 
lay  scattered  here  and  there  along  the  way 
home  ;  for  Daisy's  prancings  and  caperings  — 
she  was  supposed  to  be  a  pony  just  now  —  had 
jolted  them  out  of  the  wagon  and  shed  them 
broadcast  on  the  path. 

Still  the  few  that  were  left  at  the  bottom  of 


Hard  at  Work,  17 

the  wagon  told  whence  they  had  come ;  and 
the  tiny  spade  and  pail  full  of  shells  which 
Carrie  held  told  the  same  story. 

But  how  tired  and  languid  mamma  looked  \ 
how  wearily  she  walked  across  the  lawn  ! 

Neilie  ran  down  to  meet  her. 

"  Why,  mamma  !  "  she  exclaimed.  "  Have 
you  been  down  to  the  beach  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Nellie." 

"  But,  mamma,  you  look  so  tired.  Didn't 
you  know  that  was  too  long  a  walk  for  you  ?  " 

Nellie,  a  child  grave  and  wise  for  her  years, 
always,  or  almost  always,  showed  a  tender, 
thoughtful  care  for  her  mother;  and  it  was 
sometimes  really  droll  to  see  how  she  checked 
or  advised  her  against  any  imprudence,  even 
gently  reproved,  as  in  the  present  case,  when 
the  deed  was  done. 

"  You  ought  not  to  do  it,  mamma,  you 
really  ought  not." 

"  I  had  promised  Carrie  that  she  should  go 
this  afternoon,"  said  Mrs.  Ransom,  "and  I 
could  not  bear  that  she  should  be  disappointed 
2 


1 8  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

after  being  shut  up  in  the  house  for  four 
days." 

"  Mamma,"  said  Carrie,  "  I'm  sure  I'd 
rather  have  stayed  home  than  had  you  make 
yourself  too  tired.  I  didn't  know  it  was  too 
far  for  you.  I  really  didn't.  Oh,  I'm  so 
sorry  you  said  you'd  take  me  !  Will  it  make 
you  ill  again?" 

"No,  dear.  I  think  not.  I  do  not  believe 
it  will  hurt  me,  though  I  do  feel  rather  tired," 
said  Mrs.  Ransom,  smiling  cheerfully  down 
into  the  little  troubled  face  which  looked  up  so 
penitently  into  her  own. 

Self-reproached,  humbled  and  repentant, 
Nellie  could  find  no  words  to  say  what  she 
would,  or  rather  the  choking  feeling  in  her 
throat  stifled  her  voice  ;  and  she  could  only 
walk  silently  by  her  mother's  side  until  they 
reached  the  piazza,  where  Mrs.  Ransom  sank 
wearily  into  a  chair,  giving  her  hat  and  para 
sol  into  the  hands  of  the  eager  little  Carrie, 
who  seemed  to  feel  as  if  she  could  not  do 
enough  to  make  her  mother  comfortable  after 


Hard  at  Work.  19 

the  sacrifice  she  had  made  for  her ;  and  Daisy, 
who  always  thought  she  must  do  what  Carrie 
did,  followed  her  example. 

Carrie  brought  a  footstool,  Daisy  immedi- 
ately ran  for  another,  and  nothing  would  do 
but  mamma  must  put  one  foot  on  each.  Car- 
rie brought  a  cushion  to  put  behind  her,  and 
Daisy,  vanishing  into  the  library,  presently 
reappeared,  rolling  along  with  a  sofa  pillow  in 
each  hand,  and  was  quite  grieved  when  she 
found  that  mamma  could  not  well  make  use 
of  all  three.  Then  Carrie  bringing  a  fan,  and 
fanning  mamma,  Daisy  must  do  the  same, 
and  scratched  mamma's  nose,  and  banged  her 
head,  and  thumped  her  cheek  with  the  enor- 
mous Japanese  affair  which  would  alone  serve 
her  purpose ;  to  all  of  which  mamma  sub- 
mitted with  the  meekest  resignation,  only  kiss- 
ing the  dear  little,  blundering  nurse,  whenever 
such  mishaps  occurred,  and  saying,  — 

"  Not  quite  so  hard,  darling." 

And  meanwhile  Nellie,  with  that  horrid 
lump    in  her  throat,   could  do   nothing   but 


/o  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

stand  leaning  against  the  piazza  railing,  wish- 
ing —  oh,  so  much  !  —  that  she  had  gone  with 
Carrie  when  she  asked  her,  and  so  spared 
mamma  all  this  fatigue.  Mamma  had  uttered 
no  word  of  reproach ;  she  knew  that  none  was 
needed  just  now,  although  she  feared  that 
under  the  same  temptation  Nellie  would  do  the 
same  thing  again. 

But  what  greater  reproach  could  there  be 
than  that  pale  face  and  languid  voice,  and  the 
knowledge  that  but  for  her  selfishness  —  yes, 
selfishness,  Nellie  could  not  shut  her  eyes  to 
it  —  mamma  need  not  have  gone  to  the  beach. 

And  she  Knew  that  it  was  necessary  and 
right  that  her  mother  should  be  shielded  from 
all  possible  fatigue,  trouble,  and  anxiety ;  she 
knew  that  they  had  all  come  to  Newport  this 
summer  because  the  doctor  had  recommended 
that  air  as  best  for  her,  and  that  papa  had 
caKen  this  small  but  pretty  cottage  at  a  rather 
inconvenient  expense,  so  that  she  might  be 
quite  comfortable,  have  all  her  family  about 
her,  and  gain  all  the  benefit  possible.     Every 


Hard  at  Work.  21 

one  was  so  anxious  and  careful  about  her,  as 
there  was  need  to  be ;  and  she  had  im- 
proved so  much  the  last  fortnight  in  this 
lovely  air,  and  under  such  loving  care. 

And  now  !  She  had  been  the  first  one  to 
cause  her  any  fatigue  or  risk,  —  she  who  had 
meant  to  be  such  a  good  and  thoughtful  young 
nurse. 

To  be  sure,  she  had  never  dreamed  that 
mamma  would  take  Carrie  to  the  beach,  but 
still  it  was  all  her  fault.     Oh  dear !  oh  dear ! 

Carrie  and  Daisy  chattered  away  to  one 
another  and  to  their  mother,  while  the  latter 
sat  silently  resting  in  her  easy-chair,  thinking 
more  of  Nellie  than  of  them,  thinking  anx- 
iously too. 

Suddenly  a  choking  sob  broke  in  upon  the 
children's  prattle,  —  a  sob  that  would  have  its 
way,  half  stifled  though  it  was. 

"  Nellie,  dear !  "  said  Mrs.  Ransom.  "  Come 
here,  my  child,"  —  as  Nellie  turned  to  run 
away. 

Nellie  came  with  her  hands  over  her  face. 


22  Nellies  Housekeeping 

"  Don't  feel  so  badly,  dear.  I  am  not  so 
very  tired,  and  I  do  not  think  it  will  hurt  me," 
said  Mrs.  Ransom.  "  I  thought  I  was  stronger 
than  it  seems  I  am  ;  but  another  time  we  will 
both  be  more  careful,  hey  ?  " 

And  she  drew  away  Nellie's  hand,  and  ten- 
derly kissed  her  hot,  wet  cheek. 

Nellie  went  down  upon  one  of  the  pair  of 
stools  occupied  by  her  mother's  feet,  some- 
what to  Daisy's  disgust,  who  only  forgave  her 
by  reason  of  the  distress  she  saw  her  in,  and 
buried  her  face  on  her  knee. 

She  was  never  a  child  of  many  words,  and 
just  now  they  failed  her  altogether ;  but  her 
mother  needed  none. 

"  What  did  Nellie  do  ?  Did  she  hurt  her- 
self? "  asked  the  wondering  Daisy. 

"  No,"  said  Carrie.  "  She  hasn't  hurt  her- 
self, but  she  "  —  Carrie's  explanations  were  not 
apt  to  prove  balm  to  a  wounded  spirit,  and  her 
mother  checked  her  by  uplifted  finger  and  a 
warning  shake  of  her  head,  taking  up  the 
word  herself. 


Hard  at  Work,  23 

"  No,"  she  said  to  Daisy.  "  Nellie  is  trou- 
bled  about  something,  but  we  won't  talk  about 
it  now." 

"  Yes,  we'll  never  mind,  won't  we  ? "  said 
Daisy.  "  But  I'll  fan  her  to  make  her  feel 
better." 

And,  suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  she 
slipped  down  from  her  perch  beside  her 
mother,  and  began  to  labor  vigorously  about 
Nellie's  head  and  shoulders  with  her  ponder- 
ous instrument. 

Somehow  this  struck  Nellie  as  funny,  and 
even  in  the  midst  of  her  penitent  distress  she 
was  obliged  to  give  a  low  laugh ;  a  nervous 
little  laugh  it  was,  too,  as  her  mother  noticed. 

"  She's  'most  better  now,"  said  Daisy,  in  a 
loud  whisper,  and  with  a  confidential  nod  at 
mamma.  "  I  fought  I'd  cure  her  up.  This  is 
a  very  nice  fan  when  people  don't  feel  well,  or 
feel  sorry,"  she  added,  as  she  paused  for  a 
moment,  with  an  admiring  look  at  the  article 
in  question ;  "  it  makes  such  a  lot  of  wind." 

And  she  returned  desperately  to  her  work, 


24  JVellze's  Housekeeping. 

bringing  down  the  fan  with  a  whack  on 
Nellie's  head,  and  then  apologizing  with  — 

"  Oh !  I  didn't  mean  to  give  you  that  little 
tap,  Nellie ;  it  will  waggle  about  so  in  my 
hands." 

Nellie  laughed  again,  she  really  could  not 
help  it,  though  she  felt  ashamed  of  herself 
for  doing  so;  and  now  she  raised  her  head, 
wiped  her  eyes,  and  smiled  at  Daisy ;  the 
little  one  fully  believing  that  her  attentions 
had  brought  about  this  pleasing  result. 

Perhaps  they  had. 

But  although  cheerfulness  was  for  the  time 
restored,  poor  Nellie's  troubles  had  not  yet 
come  to  an  end  for  that  evening. 


II. 


A  TALK   WITH  PAPA. 


JR.  RANSOM  had  said  that  the  family 
were  not  to  wait  tea  for  him,  as  he 
might  be  late ;  but  they  were  scarcely 
seated  at  the  table  when  he  came  in  and  took 
Iris  place  with  them. 

"  Elinor,"  he  said  immediately,  looking 
across  the  table  at  his  wife,  "  I  met  Mr.  Brad- 
ford, and  he  told  me  he  had  seen  you  down 
on  the  beach  with  the  children.  I  told  him  he 
must  be  mistaken,  as  you  were  not  fit  for  such 
a  walk,  but  he  insisted  he  was  right.  It  is  not 
possible  you  were  so  imprudent,  is  it  ?  " 
"  Well,  yes,  if  you  will  call  it  imprudence," 


26  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

answered  Mrs.  Ransom,  smiling.     "  I  do  not 
feel  that  it  lias  hurt  me." 

"  Your  face  tells  whether  it  has  hurt  you  or 
no,"  said  her  husband  in  a  vexed  tone ;  "  you 
look  quite  tired  out :  how  could  you  do  so  ?  " 

"  I  wanted  Carrie  to  have  the  walk,  and  I 
felt  more  able  to  go  with  her  than  to  spare  the 
nurse  and  take  care  of  baby  myself,"  answered 
Mrs.  Ransom,  trying  to  check  farther  question- 
ing by  a  side  glance  at  Nellie's  downcast  face. 

But  Mr.  Ransom  did  not  understand,  or  did 
not  heed  the  look  she  gave  him. 

"And  where  was  our  steady  little  woman, 
Nellie  ?  "  he  said.  "  I  thought  she  was  to  be 
trusted  to  take  care  of  the  other  children  at 
any  time  or  in  any  place." 

"  And  so  she  is,"  said  Mrs.  Ransom,  willing, 
if  possible,  to  spare  Nellie  any  farther  morti- 
fication, "  but  she  was  occupied  this  after- 
noon." 

"  That's  nonsense,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Ransom, 
with  another  vexed  look  at  his  wife's  pale  face ; 
"  Nellie  could  have  had  nothing  to  do  of  such 


A   Talk  with  Pafa.  27 

importance  that  it  must  hinder  her  from  help- 
ing you.     Why  did  you  not  send  her  ?  " 

"  Papa,"  murmured  poor  Nellie,  "I  —  mam- 
ma —  I  —  please  —  it  was  all  my  fault.  I  —  I 
was  cross  to  Carrie.  Please  don't  blame 
mamma." 

Nellie's  humble,  honest  confession  did  not 
much  mollify  her  father,  who  was  a  quick-tem- 
pered man,  rather  apt  to  be  sharp  with  his 
children  if  any  thing  went  wrong ;  but  another 
pleading  look  from  his  wife  checked  any  very 
severe  reproof,  and  in  answer  to  her  "  I  really 
think  the  walk  did  not  hurt  me,"  he  contented 
himself  with  saying  shortly,  "  I  don't  agree 
with  you,'"'  and  let  the  matter  drop. 

No  sooner  was  Nellie  released  from  the  tea- 
table  than  she  was  busy  again  over  her  Bible 
and  the  slips  of  paper,  quite  lost  to  every  thing 
else  around  her.  The  children  chattered  away 
without  disturbing  her  ;  and  she  did  not  even 
notice  that  papa  and  mamma,  as  they  talked 
in  low  tones  on  the  other  side  of  the  room, 
were  looking  at  her  in  a  manner  which  would 


28  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

have  made  it  plain  to  an  observer  that  she  was 
the  subject  of  their  conversation. 

By  and  by  Daisy  came  to  kiss  her  for  good- 
night. She  raised  her  head  slightly,  and 
turned  her  cheek  to  her  little  sister,  answering 
pleasantly  enough,  but  with  an  absent  air, 
showing  plainly  that  her  thoughts  were  busy 
with  something  else. 

Daisy  held  strong  and  natural  objections  to 
this  not  over-civil  mode  of  receiving  her  caress, 
and,  drawing  back  her  rosy  lips  from  the  up- 
raised cheek,  said,  — 

"No,  I  shan't  kiss  you  that  way.  I  want 
your  mouf;  it's  not  polite  to  stick  up  a 
cheek." 

An  expression  of  impatience  flitted  over 
Nellie's  face ;  but  it  was  gone  in  an  instant, 
and,  dropping  her  pencil,  she  put  both  arms 
about  Daisy,  and  gave  her  a  hearty  and  affec- 
tionate kiss  upon  her  puckered  little  mouth. 

Daisy  was  satisfied,  and  ran  off,  but,  pausing 
as  she  reached  the  door,  she  looked  back  at 
her  sister  and  said, — 


A    Talk  with  Papa,  29 

"  You're  an  awful  busy  girl  these  days, 
Nellie  ;  the  play  is  all  gone  out  of  you." 

Nellie  smiled  faintly,  hardly  heeding  the 
words;  but  other  eyes  which  were  watching 
her  thought  also  that  she  did  indeed  look  as 
if  "  all  the  play  had  gone  out "  of  her.  She 
returned  to  her  work  as  Daisy  left  her  side, 
but  even  as  she  did  so  she  drew  herself  up 
with  a  sigh,  and  passed  her  hand  wearily 
across  her  forehead. 

"  It  is  time  a  stop  was  put  to  this,"  whis- 
pered her  father,  and  mamma  assented  with  a 
rather  melancholy  nod  of  her  head. 

Not  two  minutes  had  passed  when  Daisy's 
little  feet  were  heard  pattering  down  the  stairs 
again,  and  her  glowing  face  appeared  in  the 
open  door. 

"  Ruth  says  she  can't  put  baby  down  to  put 
me  to  bed,"  she  proclaimed  with  an  unmistak- 
able air  of  satisfaction  in  the  circumstances 
which  made  it  necessary  for  mother  or  sister 
to  perform  that  office  for  her.  "  Who  wants 
to  do  it?"  she  add  '  '    J1  - 

other. 


30  Nellie's  Housekeeping, 

Mrs.  Ransom  looked  over  at  Nellie,  as  if 
expecting  she  would  offer  to  go  with  Daisy; 
but  the  little  girl  paid  no  attention,  did  not 
even  seem  to  hear  the  child. 

Mrs.  Ransom  rose  and  held  out  her  hand  to 
Daisy. 

"  Nellie,"  said  Mr.  Ransom  sharply,  "  are 
you  going  to  let  your  mother  go  upstairs  with 
Daisy  ? " 

Nellie  started,  and  looked  up  confusedly. 

"  Oh !  I  didn't  know.  Do  you  want  me  to, 
mamma?  Couldn't  Ruth  put  her  to  bed?" 
she  said,  showing  that  she  had,  indeed,  not 
heard  one  word  of  what  had  passed. 

"  Ruth  cannot  leave  the  baby,"  said  her 
mother;  "but  I  do  not  want  you  to  go  un- 
willingly, Nellie.  I  would  rather  do  it  my- 
self." 

"I  am  quite  willing,  mamma,"  and  the 
tone  of  her  voice  showed  no  want  of  readiness. 
"I  did  not  know  you  were  going.  Come, 
Daisy,  dear." 

But  she  could  not  refrain  from  a  backward, 


A   Talk  with  Paj>a,  3 1 

longing  look  at  her  book  and  papers  as  she 
left  the  room. 

She  was  not  unkind  or  cross  to  her  little 
sister  while  she  was  with  her;  far  from  it. 
She  undressed  her  carefully  and  tenderly, — 
with  rather  more  haste  than  Daisy  thought 
well,  perhaps,  but  doing  for  her  all  that  was 
needful ;  and,  if  she  were  more  silent  than 
usual,  that  did  not  trouble  Daisy,  she  could 
talk  enough  for  both. 

But  her  thoughts  were  occupied  with  some- 
thing quite  different  from  the  duty  she  had 
before  her ;  she  forgot  one  or  two  little  things, 
and  would  even  have  hurried  Daisy  into  bed 
without  hearing  her  say  her  prayers,  but  for 
the  child's  astonished  reminder.  This  done, 
and  Daisy  laid  snugly  in  her  crib,  she  kissed 
her  once  more,  and  gladly  escaped  downstairs. 
Daisy  was  never  afraid  to  be  left  alone ;  besides, 
there  was  the  nurse  just  in  the  next  room. 

"  Are  you  going  back  to  that  horrid  writ- 
ing? "  asked  Carrie,  as  Nellie  took  her  seat  at 
the  table  again. 


32  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

"  I  am  going  back  to  my  writing,"  answered 
Nellie,  dryly. 

Carrie  looked,  as  she  felt,  disgusted.  Papa 
and  mamma  had  gone  out  on  the  piazza ;  but 
mamma  would  not  let  her  be  in  the  evening 
air,  and  she  wanted  amusement  within ;  and 
here  was  Nellie  going  back  to  that  "  horrid 
writing,"  which  had  occupied  her  so  much  for 
the  last  three  days. 

Nellie  had  plainly  neither  time  nor  thought 
to  bestow  upon  her;  and  she  wandered  rest- 
lessly and  discontentedly  about  the  room,  fret- 
ting for  "  something  to  do." 

But  a  few  minutes  had  passed  when  a  loud 
thump  sounded  overhead ;  and  a  shriek  fol- 
lowed, which  rang  through  the  house.  There 
was  no  mistaking  the  cause :  Daisy  had  fallen 
out  of  bed,  as  Daisy  was  apt  to  do  unless  she 
were  carefully  guarded  against  it;  and  the 
catastrophe  was  one  of  such  frequent  occur- 
rence, and  Daisy  so  seldom  received  injury 
therefrom,  that  none  of  the  family  were  much 
alarmed,  save  her  mother. 


A   Talk  with  Pa  fa.  33 

Mrs.  Ransom  ran  upstairs,  followed  quickly 
by  Nellie  and  Carrie,  and  more  slowly  by  her 
husband,  who  hoped  and  believed  that  Daisy  had 
had  her  usual  good  fortune,  and  accomplished 
her  gymnastics  without  severe  injury  to  herself. 

It  proved  otherwise  this  time,  however ;  for, 
although  not  seriously  hurt,  Daisy  had  a  great 
bump  on  her  forehead,  which  was  fast  swelling 
and  turning  black,  and  a  scratch  upon  her 
arm ;  and  she  was  disposed  to  make  much  of 
her  wounds  and  bruises,  and  to  consider  her- 
self a  greatly  afflicted  martyr. 

How  did  it  happen?  Daisy  should  have 
been  fastened  in  her  little  bed,  so  that  she 
could  not  fall  out. 

"  Nellie,"  said  Mrs.  Ransom,  as  she  held 
the  sobbing  child  upon  her  lap  and  bathed  the 
aching  little  head  with  warm  water  and  arnica, 
—  "  Nellie,  did  you  fasten  up  the  side  of  the 
crib  after  you  had  put  Daisy  in  bed  ?  " 

"  No,  mamma,  I  don't  believe  I  did,"  said 
conscience-stricken  Nellie.  "  I  don't  quite 
remember,  but  I  am  afraid  I  did  not." 


34  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

"And  why  didn't  you?  You  know  she 
always  rolls  out,  if  it  is  not  done,"  said  her 
mother. 

"I —  I  suppose  I  did  not  remember,  mamma, 
I  was  thinking  about  something  else  ;  and  I 
was  in  such  a  hurry  to  go  downstairs  again. 
I  am  so  sorry !  " 

And  she  laid  her  hand  penitently  on  that  of 
Daisy,  who  was  regarding  her  with  an  injured 
air,  as  one  who  was  the  cause  of  her  misfor- 
tunes. 

"  Yes,  I  am  afraid  that  was  it,  Nellie,"  said 
Mrs.  Ransom.  "  Your  mind  was  so  taken  up 
with  something  else  that  you  could  not  give 
proper  attention  to  your  little  sister.  I  am 
sorry  I  did  not  come  myself  to  put  her  to 
bed." 

It  was  the  second  time  that  day  that  Nellie 
might  have  been  helpful  to  her  mother,  but  she 
had  only  brought  trouble  upon  her. 

She  stood  silent  and  mortified. 

Mr.  Ransom  took  Daisy  from  her  mother 
and  laid  her  back  in  her  crib,  taking  care  that 


A   Talk  with  Pafa.  35 

she  was  perfectly  secured  this  time  ;  then  went 
downstairs.  But  Daisy  was  not  to  be  con- 
soled, unless  mamma  sat  beside  her  and  held 
her  hand  till  she  went  to  sleep ;  so  Mrs.  Ran- 
som remained  with  her,  dismissing  Carrie  also 
to  bed. 

Nellie  assisted  her  to  undress,  making  very 
sure  that  nothing  was  forgotten  this  time,  and 
then  returned  to  see  if  her  mother  was  ready 
to  go  downstairs.  But  Daisy  was  most  persist- 
ently wide  awake ;  her  fall  had  roused  her 
from  her  first  sleep  very  thoroughly  ;  and  she 
found  it  so  pleasant  to  have  mamma  sitting 
there  beside  her  that  she  had  no  mind  to  let 
herself  float  off  to  the  land  of  dreams,  but 
kept  constantly  exciting  herself  with  such 
remarks  as — 

"  Mamma,  the's  a  lot  of  tadpoles  in  the  lit- 
tle pond."  — "  Mamma,  the's  lots  of  niggers  in 
Newport ;  oh  !  I  forgot,  you  told  me  not  to 
say  niggers ;  I  mean  colored,  black  people." 
— "  Mamma,  when  I'm  big  I'll  buy  you  a  gold 
satin  dress."     Or  suddenly  rousing  just  as  her 


36  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

mother  thought  she  was  dropping  off  to  sleep, 
and  putting  the  startling  question,  "  Mamma, 
if  I  was  a  bear,  would  you  be  my  mamma?  " 
and  mamma  unhappily  replying  "  No,"  she 
immediately  set  up  a  dismal  howl,  which  took 
some  time  to  quiet. 

Finding  this  to  be  the  state  of  affairs,  and 
warned  by  her  mother's  uplifted  finger  not  to 
come  in  the  room,  Nellie  went  downstairs 
again,  meaning  to  return  to  her  former  occupa 
tion.  But,  to  her  surprise,  the  Bible,  which  she 
remembered  leaving  open,  was  closed  and  laid 
aside,  her  papers  all  gone. 

"  Why,"  she  said,  "  who  has  meddled  with 
my  things,  I  wonder  ?  " 

"I  put  them  all  away,  Nellie,"  said  her 
father. 

"  I  am  going  to  write  more,  papa." 

"  Not  to-night.  Put  on  your  hat  and  come 
out  with  me  for  a  little  walk,"  said  Mr.  Ran- 
som. 

Nellie  might  have  felt  vexed  at  this  decided 
interference  with  her  work ;  but  the  pleasure 


A   Talk  with  Pafa.  37 

of  a  moonlight  walk  with  papa  quite  made  up 
for  it,  and  she  was  speedily  ready,  and  her 
hand  in  his. 

Mr.  Ransom  led  her  down  upon  the  beach, 
Nellie  half  expecting  all  the  time  some  reproof 
for  the  neglect  which  had  caused  so  much 
trouble ;  but  her  father  uttered  none,  talking 
cheerfully  and  pleasantly  on  other  subjects. 

It  was  a  beautiful  evening.  The  gentle 
waves,  shimmering  and  glancing  in  the  moon- 
light, broke  softly  on  the  beach  with  a  sooth- 
ing, sleepy  sound;  and  the  cool  salt  breeze 
which  swept  over  them  came  pleasantly  to 
Nellie's  flushed,  hot  cheeks  and  throbbing 
head.  She  and  her  father  had  the  beach 
pretty  much  to  themselves  at  this  hour  ;  and, 
finding  a  broad,  flat  stone  which  offered  a  good 
resting-place,  they  sat  down  upon  it,  and 
watched  the  waves  as  they  curled  and  rippled 
playfully  upon  the  white  sands. 

"  Now,"  thought  Nellie,  when  they  were 
seated  side  by  side, — "now,  surely,  papa  is 
going  to  find  fault  with  me ;  and  no  wonder 


38  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

if  lie  does.  Twice  to-day  I've  made  such 
trouble  for  mamma,  when  I  never  meant  to  do 
a  thing!  I  don't  see  what  ailed  me  to-day. 
It  has  been  a  horrid  day,  and  every  thing  has 
gone  wrong." 

And  Nellie  really  did  not  know,  or  perhaps 
I  should  say  had  not  considered,  what  it  was 
that  had  made  every  thing  go  wrong  with  her 
for  the  greater  part  of  the  day. 

But  no ;  again  she  was  pleasantly  disap- 
pointed. Papa  talked  on  as  before,  and  called 
her  attention  to  the  white  sails  of  a  ship 
gleaming  far  off  in  the  silver  moonlight,  and 
told  her  an  interesting  story  of  a  shipwreck 
he  had  once  witnessed  on  this  coast. 

As  they  were  on  their  way  home,  however, 
and  when  they  had  nearly  reached  the  house, 
Mr.  Ransom  said,  — 

"  Nellie,  what  is  this  you  are  so  busy  with, 
my  daughter  ? " 

"  What,  my  writing  do  you  mean,  papa  ?  " 
asked  Nellie,  looking  up  at  him. 

"  Yes,  some  Bible  lesson,  is  it  not  ?  " 


A   Talk  with  Pafa.  39 

"  Not  just  a  lesson,  papa,"  answered  Nellie. 
"  Miss  Ashton  gave  us  three  or  four  subjects 
to  study  over  a  little  this  summer,  if  we  chose, 
and  to  find  as  many  texts  about  as  we  could ; 
but  it  is  not  a  lesson,  for  we  need  not  do  it 
unless  we  like,  and  have  plenty  of  time." 

"  Then  it  is  not  a  task  she  set  you  ? "  said 
Mr.  Eansom. 

"Oh,  no,  papa !  not  at  all.  She  said  she 
thought  it  would  be  a  good  plan  for  us  to  read 
a  little  history  every  day,  or  to  take  any  other 
lesson  our  mammas  liked,  but  she  did  not  even 
first  speak  of  this  of  herself ;  for  Gracie  How- 
ard asked  her  to  give  us  some  subjects  to  hunt 
up  texts  about,  and  then  Miss  Ashton  said  it 
would  be  a  good  plan  for  us  to  spend  a  little 
time  at  that  if  we  liked,  and  she  gave  us  four 
subjects.  She  said  it  would  help  to  make  us 
familiar  with  the  Bible." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Ransom  musingly,  and  as 
if  he  had  not  heeded,  if  indeed  he  had  heard, 
the  last  sentence  of  her  speech. 

"  And  I  have  such  a  long  list,  papa,"  con- 


40  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

tinued  Nellie,  "  that  is,  on  the  first  subject ; 
and  on  the  second  I  have  a  good  many,  too, 
but  I  am  not  through  with  that.  I  had  very 
few  the  day  before  yesterday ;  but  then,  you 
know,  Maggie  Bradford  came  to  see  me,  and 
she  is  doing  it,  too,  and  she  had  so  many  more 
than  I  had  that  I  felt  quite  ashamed.  Then 
the  same  afternoon  I  had  a  letter  from  Gracie 
Howard,  and  she  told  me  she  had  more  than  a 
hundred  on  the  first,  and  nearly  a  hundred  on 
the  second  ;  so  I  felt  I  must  hurry  up,  or  maybe 
all  the  others  would  be  ahead  of  me.  I've 
been  busy  all  day  to-day  finding  texts,  and 
copying  them." 

"  Is  that  all  you  have  done  to  day  ?  "  asked 
Mr.  Ransom. 

Nellie  cannot  gather  from  his  tone  whether 
he  approves  or  not ;  but  it  seems  to  her  quite 
impossible  that  he  should  not  consider  her  oc- 
cupation most  praiseworthy. 

"Oh,  no,  papa  !  "  she  answered.  "  I  have 
done  several  things  besides.  I  read  nearly 
twenty  pages  of  my  history  twice  over,  and 


A    Talk  with  Pafia.  41 

learned  every  one  of  the  dates;  then  I  studied 
a  page  of  Speller  and  Definer,  and  a  lesson  in 
my  French  Phrase-book,  and  did  four  sums, 
and  said '  7  times '  and '  9  times  '  in  the  multipli- 
cation table,  each  four  times  over.  7's  and  9's 
are  the  hardest  to  remember,  so  I  say  those 
the  oftenest.  I  did  all  those  lessons  and  half 
an  hour's  sewing  before  I  went  to  my  texts ; 
but  I've  been  busy  with  those  almost  ever 
since." 

"  And  you  have  had  no  walk,  no  play,  all 
day  ?  "  questioned  Mr.  Ransom. 

Nellie  was  not  satisfied  with  her  father's 
tone  now;  it  did  not  by  any  means  express 
approbation. 

"  I  have  not  played  any,  papa,  but  I  had 
some  exercise  ;  for  all  the  time  I  was  learning 
my  French  phrases,  I  was  rolling  the  baby's 
wagon  around  the  gravel  walk." 

"  And  it  was  pretty  much  the  same  thing 
yesterday,  was  it  not  ?  "  said  Mr.  Ransom. 

"  Well,  yes,  papa,"  rather  faintly. 

"  Nellie,"  said  her  father,  "  did  you  ever 


42  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

hear  the  old  couplet,  '  All  work  and  no  play 
makes  Jack  a  dull  boy  '  ?  " 

"  Yes,  papa,"  answered  Nellie,  half  laugh- 
ing, half  reluctantly,  as  she  began  to  fear  that 
her  father  intended  to  interfere  with  her  plans 
for  study.     "  But  aml'a  dull  boy  '  ?  " 

"  Neither  '  dull'  nor  a  ' boy,'  "  answered  her 
father,  playfully  shaking  the  little  hand  in  his. 
"  But  I  fear  there  is  danger  of  the  former, 
Nellie,  if  you  go  on  taking  so  much  i  work ' 
and  no  '  play.'  Miss  Ashton  did  not  desire  all 
this,  if  I  understand  you,  my  dear." 

"  Oh,  no,  papa !  I  was  just  doing  it  of  my- 
self. Miss  Ashton  only  said,  if  our  papas  and 
mammas  did  not  object,  she  thought  it  would  be 
wiser  for  us  to  have  a  little  lesson  or  reading 
every  day.  But  you  see,  papa  "  —  Nellie  hesi- 
tated, and  then  came  to  a  full  stop. 

"  Well  ?  "  said  her  father,  encouragingly. 

"  Papa,  I  seem  to  be  so  far  behind  all  the 
girls  of  my  age  in  our  class.  It  makes  me  feel 
ashamed,  and  as  if  I  must  do  all  I  could  to 
catch  up  with  them." 


A   Talk  with  Pafa.  43 

"  I  do  not  know,"  said  Mr.  Ransom.  "  It 
seems  to  me  that  a  little  girl  who  keeps  the 
head  of  her  spelling,  history,  and  geography 
classes  for  at  least  a  fair  share  of  the  time, 
and  who  has  taken  more  than  one  prize  for 
composition  and  steady,  orderly  conduct,  has 
no  need  to  feel  ashamed  before  her  school- 
fellows." 

"  Well,  no,  papa  —  but  —  but  —  somehow 
I  am  not  so  quick  as  the  others.  I  generally 
know  my  lessons,  and  do  keep  my  place  in  the 
classes  about  as  well  as  any  one  ;  but  it  takes 
me  a  great  deal  longer  than  it  does  most  of 
the  others.  Gracie  Howard  can  learn  in  half 
the  time  that  I  can ;  so  can  Laura  Middleton, 
Maggie  Bradford,  and  'most  all  the  girls  as  old 
as  I  am,  whom  I  know." 

"  And  probably  they  know  them  and  re- 
member them  no  better  than  my  Nellie,"  said 
her  father. 

Mr.  Ransom  was  not  afraid  of  making  his 
little  daughter  conceited  or  careless  by  over- 
praise;  she  had  not  sufficient  confidence  in 


44  Nellie's  Housekeeping'. 

herself  or  her  own  powers,  and  needed  all  the 
encouragement  that  could  be  given  to  her. 
Too  much  humility,  rather  than  too  little,  was 
Nellie's  snare. 

"  Yes,  papa,"  she  answered.  "  I  suppose  I 
do  remember  as  well  as  any  of  the  rest,  and  I 
seldom  miss  in  my  lessons ;  but  I  don't  see 
why  it  is  that  often  when  Miss  Ashton  asks  us 
some  question  about  a  lesson  that  has  gone 
before,  or  about  something  that  I  know  quite 
well,  the  words  do  not  seem  to  come  to  me 
very  quick,  and  one  of  the  others  will  answer 
before  I  can.  Miss  Ashton  is  very  good  about 
that,  papa,  and  sometimes  it  seems  as  if  she 
knew  I  was  going  to  answer ;  for  she  will  say, 
'  Nellie,  you  know  that,  do  you  not,  my  dear  ? ' 
and  make  the  others  wait  till  I  can  speak. 
But,  papa,  even  then  it  makes  me  feel  horridly, 
for  it  seems  as  if  I  was  stupid  not  to  be  quick 
as  the  others,  and  I  can't  bear  to  have  them 
waiting  for  me  to  find  my  words.  So  I  want 
to  study  all  I  can,  even  out  of  school  and  in 
vacation. " 


A   Talk  with  Pafa.  45 

Nellie's  voice  shook,  and  her  father  saw  in 
the  moonlight  that  the  eyes  she  raised  to  him 
were  full  of  tears. 

"  And  you  think  that  all  this  extra  study  is 
going  to  help  you,  my  little  girl  ?  "  he  said. 

"  Why,  yes,  I  thought  it  would,  papa.  I 
want  to  learn  a  great  deal,  for,  oh,  I  would  so 
like  to  be  quick  and  clever,  to  study  as  fast 
and  answer  as  well  as  Maggie,  Gracie,  or  Lily ! 
Please  don't  think  I  am  vexed  if  the  other 
children  go  above  me  in  my  classes,  or  that  I 
am  jealous,  papa ;  I  don't  mean  to  be,  but  I 
would  like  to  be  very  wise,  and  to  know  a 
great  deal." 

"  I  certainly  shall  not  think  you  are  envi- 
ous of  your  schoolmates  and  playfellows,  my 
daughter,  however  far  they  may  outstrip  you, 
and  papa  can  feel  for  you  in  your  want  of 
readiness  and  quickness  of  speech,  for  he  is 
troubled  sometimes  in  the  same  way  himself; 
but,  Nellie,  this  is  a  misfortune  rather  than  a 
fault,  and,  though  you  would  do  well  to  correct 
it  as  far  as  you  can,  I  do  not  know  that  you 


46  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

are  taking  the  right  way ;  and  I  am  sure,  my 
dear,  that  you  have  plainer  and  nearer  duties 
just  now." 

"  You  say  that,  papa,  because  I  was  diso- 
bliging to  Carrie  this  afternoon,  and  careless 
with  dear  little  Daisy  to-night,  and  I  know  it 
serves  me  right ;  but  do  you  think  it  is  not  a 
very  great  duty  for  me  to  improve  myself  all 
I  can  ?  " 

"  Certainly,  Nellie,  I  think  it  your  duty  to 
make  the  most  of  your  advantages,  and  that 
you  should  try  to  improve  yourself  as  much 
as  you  can  at  proper  times  and  in  proper 
places;  but  I  do  not  think  it  wise  or  right 
that  my  little  girl  should  spend  the  time  that 
she  needs  for  rest  or  play  in  what  is  to  her 
hard  work  and  study.  My  child,  you  are  do- 
ing now  four  times  as  much  as  you  should  do, 
while  at  the  same  time  you  are  forgetting  or 
neglecting  the  little  every-day  duties  that  fall 
to  you.     Is  it  not  so  ?  " 

"  I  dare  say  you  think  so,  papa,  after  to- 
day," answered  Nellie,  with  quivering  voice ; 


A   Talk  with  Pafa.  47 

"  but  I  can  try  not  to  let  myself  be  so  taken 
up  again  with  my  lessons,  and  then  there  will 
be  no  harm  in  it,  will  there  ?  " 

"  Have  you  felt  very  well,  quite  like  your- 
self, during  the  last  few  days,  Nellie  ? " 

"  Well,  no,  sir,"  said  Nellie,  reluctantly. 
"  Not  quite.  I  feel  rather  tired  every  morn- 
ing when  I  wake  up,  and  my  head  aches  a 
good  deal  'most  all  the  time.  And  —  and  — >  I 
don't  feel  quite  like  myself,  for  I  feel  cross  and 
hateful,  and  I  don't  think  I  usually  am  very 
cross,  papa." 

"  And  the  harder  you  work,  the  worse  you 
feel ;  is  it  not  so  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  don't  know,  papa ;  but  you  do  not 
think  study  makes  my  head  ache,  or  makes  me 
cross,  do  you  ?  " 

"  Certainly  I  do,  dear  ;  too  much  study,  too 
much  work,  which  may  make  Nell  a  dull 
girl,  if  she  does  not  take  care.  Your  little 
mind  has  become  over-tired,  Nellie ;  so  has 
your  little  body  ;  and  health  and  even  temper 
must  suffer." 


48  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

"I'll  try  not  to  be  cross  or  careless  again, 
papa,"  said  Nellie,  humbly.  "  And  there  is  no 
need  for  me  to  play  if  I  do  not  choose,  is 
there  ? " 

"  Who  gave  you  your  health  and  good  spir- 
its, Nellie  ? " 

"  Why,  God,  papa  !  " 

"  And  do  you  think  it  right,  then,  for  you 
to  do  any  thing  which  destroys  or  injures 
either  ?  " 

"  No,  papa,"  more  slowly  still,  as  she  saw 
his  meaning. 

They  had  been  standing  for  the  last  few 
moments  at  the  foot  of  the  piazza  steps,  where 
mamma  sat  awaiting  them ;  and  now,  stooping 
to  kiss  his  thoughtful,  sensible  little  daughter, 
Mr.  Ransom  said, — 

"  We  have  had  talk  enough  for  to-night, 
Nellie  ;  and  it  is  past  your  bed-time.  Think 
over  what  we  have  said,  and  to-morrow  I  will 
talk  to  you  again.  Put  texts  and  lessons 
quite  out  of  your  head  for  the  present,  and  go 
to  sleep  as  soon  as  you  can.  Good-night,  my 
shild." 


A   Talk  with  Pafa,  49 

Nellie  bade  him  good-night,  and,  kissing 
her  mother  also,  obeyed,  going  quietly  and 
thoughtfully  upstairs.  That  was  nothing  new 
for  Nellie ;  but  her  mother's  anxious  ear  did 
not  fail  to  notice  that,  spite  of  the  walk  and 
talk  with  papa,  her  foot  had  not  its  usual 
spring  and  lightness. 


III. 


NELLIE  A  HOUSEKEEPER. 


R.  RANSOM  acted  wisely  in  leaving 
what  he  had  said  to  work  its  own 
effect  on  his  little  girl.  Nellie  was 
such  a  sensible,  thoughtful  child  —  almost  too 
thoughtful  and  quiet  for  her  years  —  that  she 
was  sure  to  think  it  all  over,  to  consider  what 
was  right,  and,  when  she  had  decided  that, 
to  resolve  to  do  what  she  believed  to  be  her 
duty.  She  was  honest  with  herself  too,  not 
making  excuses  for  her  own  shortcomings 
when  she  saw  them,  or  trying  to  believe  that 
what  she  wished  was  the  right  thing  to  do 
because  she  wished  it.     If  she  saw  clearly  that 


Nellie  a  Housekeeper.  51 

it  was  wrong,  wrong  for  her,  a  temptation  and 
a  snare,  though  it  might  be  right  in  other  cir- 
cumstances, she  would  be  sure  to  put  it  from 
her,  hard  as  it  might  be. 

And  her  father  thought  that  it  would  be 
easier  for  her  to  resolve  of  her  own  accord  to 
give  up  some  of  the  tasks  on  which  her  heart 
was  set  than  it  would  be  to  do  so  at  his  com- 
mand. It  is  generally  pleasanter  to  believe 
that  we  are  guided  by  our  own  will  and  res- 
olution than  by  that  of  another. 

Mr.  Ransom  was  right.  Nellie  did  indeed 
think  over  in  all  seriousness  the  conversation 
she  had  had  with  her  father ;  even  more,  she 
went  back  in  her  own  mind  over  past  weeks 
and  months,  and  acknowledged  to  herself  that 
for  some  time  she  had  found  every  thing  but 
study  irksome  and  troublesome  to  her,  that 
lately  even  this  had  lost  its  pleasure,  though 
she  would  persevere  and  felt  irritated  and 
troubled  at  the  least  interruption  to  the  tasks 
she  set  herself.  She  was  forced  to  see  that 
she  did  not  feel  "  like  herself'  either  in  mind 


52  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

or  body ;  that  after  hours  of  study  her  head 
ached  and  throbbed,  she  was  weary  and  cross, 
finding  every  thing  a  burden,  and  having  no 
wish  or  energy  for  play  or  exercise.  It  had 
been  especially  so  for  the  last  two  or  three 
days,  ever  since  she  had  worked  so  hard  over 
her  "  Bible  subjects  ; "  and  honestly,  though 
unwillingly,  with  many  tears,  Nellie  made  up 
her  mind  to  do  what  she  saw  to  be  right, 
and  give  up  at  least  a  portion  of  the  tasks  she 
had  undertaken. 

"  For  I  do  see  I'm  growing  cross  and  hate- 
ful," she  said  to  herself.  "  I  can't  bear  to 
have  the  children  come  and  ask  me  to  play, 
or  to  do  any  little  favor  for  them,  and  I  don't 
like  it  very  much  whenever  mamma  wants  me 
to  help  her.  I  know  I  felt  provoked  when  she 
asked  me  to  roll  the  baby's  wagon  this  morn- 
ing, though  I  don't  think  I  let  her  see  it.  I 
believe  I  don't  feel  so  happy  or  so  good,  or 
even  so  well,  as  I  used  to  do,  and  I  don't  know 
—  I'm  afraid  it  is  so  much  reading  and  study- 
ing makes  it  so.     I  think  I'll  have  to  make  up 


Nellie  a  Housekeeper.  53 

my  mind  not  to  know  as  much,  or  to  be  so 
quick  and  clever  as  Maggie,  and  Gracie,  and 
some  of  the  others." 

But  this  was  a  hard  resolve  for  Nellie,  and 
she  fell  to  sleep  in  no  happy  frame  of  mind. 

She  slept  later  than  usual  the  next  morning, 
for  her  mother,  remembering  how  dull  and 
languid  she  had  seemed,  would  not  let  her  be 
awakened;  and  Mrs.  Ransom  and  the  chil- 
dren were  just  finishing  breakfast  when  she 
came  downstairs. 

"  Why,  where's  papa  ? "  asked  Nellie,  see- 
ing his  place  was  vacant. 

"  A  telegram  came  this  morning  which 
called  him  to  town  very  unexpectedly ,"  said 
her  mother.  "  He  went  in  and  kissed  you  as 
you  lay  asleep,  and  left  his  love  and  good-by 
for  you,  and  told  me  to  tell  you  he  hoped  to 
see  his  own  old  Nellie  back  when  he  comes 
home  in  a  week's  time." 

Nellie  knew  what  that  meant,  but  she  was 
sorry  that  papa  had  gone,  —  sorry,  not  only  that 
he  should  have  been  obliged  to  leave  home 


54  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

sooner  than  he  had  expected,  but  also  that 
she  could  not  now  talk  more  with  him  on  the 
matter  of  her  studies. 

However,  there  was  her  dear  mother:  she 
would  listen  to  her,  and  give  her  all  the  advice 
and  help  she  needed. 

The  children  asked  permission  to  leave  the 
table,  which  was  granted;  but  Mrs.  Ransom 
herself  sat  still  while  Nellie  took  her  breakfast, 
talking  cheerily  to  her,  and  trying  to  tempt 
her  very  indifferent  appetite  by  offering  a  little 
bit  of  this  or  that. 

"  Nellie,"  said  her  mother,  when  they  were 
alone,  "  I  was  thinking  of  asking  you  how  you 
would  like  to  be  my  little  housekeeper." 

"  Your  housekeeper,  mamma!"  echoed  Nel- 
lie, pausing  in  the  act  of  buttering  her  biscuit, 
and  looking  at  her  mother  with  surprise. 

"  Yes,"  answered  Mrs.  Ransom,  "  or  rather 
suppose  we  should  be  housekeeper  together, 
you  being  feet  and  hands,  and  I  being  the 
head.     Is  that  a  fair  division,  think  you  ?  " 

Nellie  colored  and  laughed. 


Nellie  a  Housekeeper.  55 

"  Why,  yes ;  but  do  you  think  I  could, 
mamma  ? " 

"  I  think  there  are  a  hundred  little  things 
you  might  do  if  you  would  like,"  said  her 
mother.  "  I'll  give  you  the  keys,  and  you 
may  make  the  store-room  and  sideboard  your 
especial  charge,  keeping  them  in  perfect  order, 
giving  out  what  is  needed,  seeing  that  the 
sugar-bowls,  tea-caddy,  cracker-basket,  and  so 
forth,  are  kept  full,  taking  my  orders  to  the 
cook,  and  other  little  things  which  will  be  a 
great  help  to  me,  and  which  will  give  you 
some  useful  lessons.     What  do  you  say  ?  " 

"  Why,  I'd  like  it  ever  so  much,  mamma, 
but "  — 

"  Well,  but  what  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Ransom,  as 
Nellie  hesitated. 

"  Mamma,  I  think  I'm  rather  stupid  about 
such  things,  and  I  might  make  you  trouble 
sometimes." 

"  Not  stupid,  Nellie  ;  and,  if  you  are  willing 
to  learn,  I  shall  be  willing  to  put  up  with  a 
little  trouble  now  and  then,  and   to   excuse 


56  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

mistakes.  If  you  undertake  it,  I  believe  you 
will  be  faithful  and  painstaking,  as  you  are 
about  every  thing,  and  that  you  can  really  be  a 
great  help  to  me.  Will  you  try  it  for  a  week, 
and  see  how  you  like  it?  By  the  time  that 
papa  comes  home  again,  you  will  be  accustomed 
to  it,  and  he  will  not  be  apt  to  suffer  from  the 
little  slips  you  may  make  at  first." 

"  Yes,  indeed,  mamma ;  and,  if  you  are  not 
tired  of  such  a  funny  housekeeper  as  I  shall 
make,  I  don't  think  I  shall  be  tired  of  doing  it. 
Mamma,  do  you  think  I  could  learn  to  make 
some  cake  ?  those  ginger-snaps  papa  likes  ?  " 

"I  do  not  doubt  it,"  said  Mrs.  Ransom, 
smiling  back  into  the  face  that  was  eager  and 
bright  enough  now. 

"  Mamma,"  said  Nellie,  "  did  papa  tell  you 
what  we  were  talking  about  last  evening  while 
we  were  out  walking  ? " 

"  Yes,  dear,  he  did ;  and  he  said  he  thought 
our  Nellie  had  sense  enough  to  see  what  she 
ought  to  do,  and  courage  and  strength  of  mind 
enough  to  make  any  sacrifice  she  felt  to  be 
right." 


Nellie  a  Housekeeper,  57 

"  Courage,  mamma  ?  " 

"  Yes,  dear,  it  often  needs  much  courage  — 
what  is  called  moral  courage  —  to  resolve  to 
do  what  we  feel  to  be  a  duty,  especially  if  it 
calls  for  any  sacrifice  of  our  pride  or  vanity, 
or  of  the  desire  to  appear  well  in  the  eyes 
of  others." 

Nellie  knew  that  she  was  thinking  of  such 
a  sacrifice,  and  it  was  rather  a  consolation  to 
have  mamma  speaking  of  it  in  this  way. 

"  Moral  courage  "  sounded  very  fine. 

But  she  sat  silent,  slowly  eating  her  omelet 
and  biscuit,  and  feeling  that  she  had  not  quite 
made  up  her  mind  how  far  the  sacrifice  must  go, 
or  how  much  of  her  work  she  should  decide  to 
give  up.  But  one  thing  she  had  fully  resolved, 
—  that  her  studies  should  no  longer  interfere 
with  what  papa  called  "  nearer  and  plainer 
duties,"  or  cause  needless  injury  to  her  health 
and  temper.  She  would  help  mamma,  play 
with  the  children,  walk  and  run  as  other  little 
girls  of  her  age  did,  and  try  hard  to  put  from 
her  all  rebellious  and  impatient  feelings  at  not 


58  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

being  quite  so  clever  as  some  among  lier 
schoolmates. 

"  Mamma,"  she  said,  after  another  pause, 
during  which  she  had  finished  her  breakfast, 
—  "  mamma,  how  much  do  you  think  it  would 
be  wise  for  me  to  study  every  day  ?  " 

"  Well,"  said  Mrs.  Ransom  slowly,  and  as  if 
she  knew  that  she  was  about  to  give  advice 
that  would  not  be  quite  agreeable,  "  if  you 
wish  to  know  what  I  think  wisest,  I  should  say 
give  up  study  altogether  for  at  least  a  fort- 
night." 

"  For  a  whole  fortnight,  two  weeks,  mam- 
ma ? "  echoed  Nellie,  in  dismay.  She  had 
expected  that  her  mother  would  say  she  might 
well  study  two  hours  a  day,  hoped  for  three, 
wished  that  it  might  be  four,  and  had  resolved 
to  be  content  with  the  allowance  proposed ; 
but  to  give  up  her  books  altogether  for  two 
weeks !  "It  seems  such  a  waste  of  time 
for  si  ch  a  great  girl  as  me,  mamma,"  she 
added. 

"  Well,  my  great  girl  of  ten  years,  suppose 


Nellie  a  Housekeeper.  59 

we  say  one  week  then,"  said  Mrs.  Ransom 
playfully.  "  Keep  on  with  your  practising  as 
usual,  and  with  your  half-hour  of  sewing* 
these  with  your  new  housekeeping  duties  will 
take  up  a  good  part  of  the  morning  without 
much  ■  waste  of  time,'  I  think ;  the  rest  of 
the  day  I  would  give  entirely  to  play  and 
amusement.  If  at  the  end  of  a  week  we  do 
not  find  that  you  are  feeling  better  and  hap- 
pier "  — 

••  And  not  so  cross,"  put  in  Nellie,  with 
rather  a  shamefaced  smile. 

Her  mother  smiled,  too,  and  took  up  her 
speech.  "  Then  we  will  agree  that  my  plan 
was  not  needful,  and  that  all  this  constant 
poring  over  books  does  not  hurt  your  health, 
your  temper,  or  your  mind." 

"  Yes,  mamma,"  said  Nellie,  with  a  sigh 
she  could  not  suppress,  though  she  did  try 
to  speak  cheerfully.  Then  she  added,  "  0 
mamma,  I  should  so  like  to  be  a  very  clever, 
bright  girl,  and  to  know  a  great  deal !  " 

"A   very  good   thing,  Nellie,  but  not  the 


60  Nellie's  Housekeeping, 

first  of  all  things,  my  daughter,"  said  Mrs 
Ransom,  putting  her  arm  about  the  waist  of 
her  little  girl,  who  had  risen  and  come  over  to 
her  side. 

"  No,  mamma,"  said  Nellie  softly,  "  and  you 
think  I  have  made  it  the  first  of  all  things 
lately,  do  you  not  ? " 

Before  Mrs.  Ransom  could  answer,  sounds 
of  woe  came  from  the  piazza  without,  Daisy's 
voice  raised  in  trouble  once  more. 

Tears  and  smiles  both  lay  near  the  surface 
with  Daisy,  and  had  their  way  by  turns.  One 
moment  she  would  be  in  the  depth  of  despair, 
the  next  dimpling  all  over  with  laughter  and 
frolic;  so  that  Nellie  did  not  fear  any  very 
serious  disaster  when  she  ran  to  see  what  the 
matter  was. 

The  great  misery  of  Daisy's  life  was  this,  — 
that  people  were  always  taking  her  for  a  boy, 
a  mistake  which  she  considered  both  unnatural 
and  insulting,  and  which  she  always  resented 
with  all  her  little  might. 

Nellie  found  her  sitting  at  the  head  of  the 


JVellte  a  Housekeeper.  61 

piazza  steps,  crying  aloud,  with  her  straw  hat 
pressed  over  her  face  by  both  hands. 

"What's  the  matter,  Daisy?"  asked  her 
sister. 

"  Oh !  such  a  wicked  butcher-man  came  to 
my  house,"  answered  Daisy,  in  smothered  tones 
from  beneath  her  hat. 

"What  did  he  do?  What  makes  him 
wicked?"  asked  Nellie. 

"  He  sweared  at  me,"  moaned  Daisy ;  "  oh ! 
he  sweared  dreadful  at  me." 

"  Did  he  ?  "  said  Nellie,  much  shocked. 

"  Yes,"  said  Daisy,  removing  the  hat  so  far 
that  she  was  able  to  peep  out  with  one  eye  at 
her  sister,  "  he  did.  He  called  me  '  Bub,'  and 
I'm  not  a  bub,  now." 

Nellie  was  far  from  wishing  to  wound  Daisy's 
feelings  afresh ;  but  this  mild  specimen  of 
swearing  struck  her  as  so  intensely  funny  that 
she  could  not  keep  back  a  peal  of  laughter,  — 
a  peal  so  merry  and  hearty  that  it  rejoiced  her 
mother's  heart,  who  had  not  heard  Nellie 
laugh  like  that  for  several  weeks. 


62  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

Daisy's  tears  redoubled  at  this.  She  had 
expected  sympathy  and  indignation  from  Nel- 
lie, and  here  she  was  actually  laughing. 

"  You  oughtn't  to  laugh,"  she  said  resent- 
fully ;  "  it  is  very  naughty  to  swear  bad  names 
at  little  girls,  and  I  shan't  eat  the  meat  that 
bad  butcher-man  brought." 

Nellie  sat  down  beside  the  insulted  little 
one,  and,  smothering  her  laughter,  said  coax- 
ingly,  — 

"  I  wouldn't  mind  that,  Daisy.  Here,  dry 
your  eyes." 

"Yes,  you  would,"  sobbed  Daisy,  taking 
down  the  hat,  but  rejecting  the  pocket  hand- 
kerchief her  sister  offered ;  "  I  have  a  potter- 
hancher  of  my  own  in  my  pottet ;  "  and  she 
pulled  out  the  ten-inch  square  article  in  ques- 
tion, and  mournfully  obeyed  Nellie's  directions. 

"  He  called  me  a  fellow  too,  and  he  ought 
to  see  I  don't  wear  boys'  clothes,"  she  added. 

"  How  did  he  come  to  be  talking  to  you  ?  " 
asked  Nellie,  trying  to  keep  a  grave  face. 
"  What  were  you  doing  ?  " 


Nellie  a  Housekeeper,  63 

"  I  was  very  good  and  nice,  just  sitting  on 
the  grass,  and  making  a  wreaf  of  some  clovers 
Carrie  gave  me,"  explained  Daisy,  piteously, 
"  and  he  brought  the  meat  in,  and  said, '  Good- 
morning,  bub ;  you're  a  nice  little  fellow  ! ' 
and  I'm  not,  now." 

"  Here  he  comes  again,"  said  Nellie,  as  a 
jolly,  good-natured-looking  butcher's  boy  came 
around  from  the  other  side  of  the  house. 

"  I  shan't  let  him  see  me,"  cried  Daisy,  and, 
scrambling  to  her  feet,  she  rushed  into  the 
house  before  the  disturber  of  her  peace  came 
near  her  again. 

A  moment  later  Nellie  heard  her  rippling 
laugh  over  some  trifle  which  had  taken  her 
attention,  and  she  knew  that  the  April  shower 
was  over,  and  sunshine  restored. 

This  little  incident  had  so  diverted  Nellie's 
thoughts,  and  amused  her  so  much,  that  for  the 
time  she  forgot  the  subject  of  the  conversation 
with  her  mother,  which  had  been  so  abruptly 
broken  off;  and  when  she  returned  to  her,  she 
laughed  merrily  again  as  she  related  the  cause 


64  Nellies  Housekeeping, 

of  Daisy's  trouble,  and  her  indignation  at  hav- 
ing been  taken  for  a  boy. 

Mrs.  Ransom  did  not  return  to  it.  She 
thought  that  enough  had  been  said,  and  she 
agreed  with  her  husband  in  thinking  that  Nellie 
would  feel  a  certain  satisfaction  in  believing 
she  exercised  her  own  will  and  judgment  in 
the  matter. 

"  Here  are  the  keys,  dear,"  she  said,  when 
she  and  Nellie  had  laughed  over  Daisy's  trib- 
ulations ;  "  and  it  is  time  Catherine  had  her 
orders  for  the  day.  Go  first  to  the  kitchen 
and  tell  her  "  —  and  here  Mrs.  Ransom  gave 
Nellie  the  necessary  directions,  which  she  in 
her  turn  was  to  repeat  to  the  cook.  Then  she 
was  to  ask  the  woman  what  was  needed  from 
the  store-room,  and  to  give  out  such  things. 

"  What's  Nellie  going  to  do  ? "  asked  Carrie, 
who  had  come  in,  and  stood  listening  while 
her  mother  gave  Nellie  her  directions. 

« I'm  going  to  be  mamma's  housekeeper," 
said  Nellie,  feeling  at  least  a  head  taller  with 
the  importance  of  all  this  reponsibility. 


Nellie  a  Housekeeper.  65 

"  Oh ! "  said  Carrie,  looking  at  her  with 
admiration,  and  quite  as  much  impressed  as 
she  was  expected  to  be. 

"  You  can  come  with  me,  and  see  me,  if 
you  want  to,"  said  Nellie. 

"  And  can  I  help  her,  mamma  ?  "  asked 
Carrie. 

"  Yes,  if  Nellie  is  willing,  and  can  find  any 
thing  for  you  to  do,"  answered  Mrs.  Ransom. 

Thoroughly  interested  now  in  her  new  un- 
dertaking, Nellie  had  for  the  time  quite  for- 
gotten lessons,  "  Bible  subjects,"  and  other 
tasks,  till  Carrie  said,  — 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do,  Nellie,  when 
you  have  finished  keeping  house  ? " 

"  I  think  it  will  take  me  a  good  while  to  do 
all  the  house-keeping,"  replied  Nellie.  "  When 
that  is  finished,  I  will  see.  Oh !  I'll  go  down 
to  the  beach  with  you,  Carrie,  if  mamma  says 
we  may." 

Carrie  looked  very  much  pleased. 

"Then  you're  not  going  back  to  that  old 
Bible  lesson  this  morning?"  she  asked. 
5 


66  JVellie's  Housekeeping. 

"  Why,  Carrie !  what  a  way  to  speak  of  the 
Bible ! " 

"  Oh  !  "  said  Carrie,  rather  abashed,  "  but 
I  didn't  mean  the  Bible  was  old,  Nellie ;  only 
the  long,  long  lessons  you  have  been  studying 
out  of  it  are  so  tiresome,  and  make  you  so 
busy." 

Nellie  understood  by  this  how  much  Carrie 
had  missed  her  company  since  she  had  been 
so  taken  up  with  her  self-chosen  task ;  and 
again  she  felt  that  she  had  been  rather  selfish 
in  letting  it  occupy  so  much  of  her  time. 

Here  Daisy  met  them,  and,  asking  where  they 
were  going,  was  told  of  Nellie's  new  dignity. 
Of  course  she  wanted  to  "  help "  too  ;  and, 
permission  being  given,  she  marched  first  into 
the  kitchen,  and  informed  the  cook,  — 

"  Me  and  Carrie  and  Nellie  are  going  to 
keep  the  house." 

Nellie  gave  her  orders  with  great  correct- 
ness, Daisy  repeating  them  after  her,  in  order 
that  the  cook  might  be  sure  to  make  no  mistake, 
>  Acept  when  Nellie  told  what  was  to  be  done 


Nellie  a  Housekeeper.  67 

with  the  meat,  when  she  declared  she  should 
not  "  talk  about  the  meat  that  wicked  butcher 
brought,"  and  turned  her  back  upon  it  with  an 
air  of  offended  dignity. 

Her  resolution  held  good  throughout  the 
day,  for  at  dinner  she  positively  refused  to  eat 
of  either  the  meat  or  poultry  brought  by  the 
"  swearing  butcher-man,"  and  even  held  out 
against  the  charms  of  a  chicken's  wish-bone 
which  mamma  offered. 

Next  to  the  store-room,  where  the  two 
younger  children  looked  on  with  admiring 
approbation,  while  Nellie  gave  out  to  the  cook 
such  articles  as  were  needed  for  the  day,  and 
then  saw  that  tea-canisters,  sugar-bowls,  cake- 
basket,  &c.,were  all  in  proper  order.  The  fill- 
ing of  the  cake-basket  and  sugar-bowls  was  a 
particularly  interesting  process,  especially  when 
Nellie,  following  mamma's  daily  practice,  be- 
stowed "just  one  lump  of  sugar  "  on  each  of 
her  little  sisters,  taking  care  to  select  the  larg- 
est, and  then  sweetening  her  own  labors  with 
a  like  chosen  morsel. 


68  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

It  was  great  fun  also  to  ladle  out  rice,  break 
the  long  sticks  of  macaroni,  and,  best  of  all, 
to  weigh  out  the  pound  of  raisins  required  for 
the  pudding. 

Daisy,  however,  permitted  herself  some  liber- 
ties under  the  new  reign  which  she  would  not 
have  ventured  upon  under  her  mother's  rule  ; 
and,  not  considering  herself  obliged  to  obey 
Nellie,  was  decoyed  away  by  the  cook  under 
the  pretence  of  shelling  peas  for  dinner.  Hav- 
ing opened  about  five  pods,  little  white  teeth 
as  well  as  her  ten  fingers  assisting  at  the  opera- 
tion, and  letting  about  every  other  pea  roll 
away,  she  concluded  that  she  was  tired  of  help- 
ing Catherine,  and  went  back  to  Nellie,  who 
was  fortunately  by  this  time  quite  through 
with  her  arrangements  in  the  store-room. 

"  Mamma,"  said  Nellie,  when  she  had  re- 
turned to  her  mother  and  reported  how  suc- 
cessfully she  had  fulfilled  all  her  orders, — 
"  mamma,  I  do  not  think  the  store-room  is 
in  very  good  order." 

"  I  know  it  is  not,  dear,"  replied  Mrs.  Ran- 


Nellie  a  Housekeeper,  6g 

som,  "  and  I  have  been  wishing  to  have  it 
properly  arranged,  but  have  not  really  felt  able 
to  attend  to  it." 

(  "  Couldn't  I  do  it,  mamma  ?  "  asked  Nellie, 
full  of  zeal  in  her  new  character. 

"  It  would  be  rather  hard  work  for  you  ;  but 
some  day  next  week  we  will  go  there  together 
and  overlook  things ;  after  which  I  will  have 
it  dusted  and  scrubbed,  and  then  you  shall 
arrange  it  as  you  please.  The  people  who 
hired  this  house  before  we  had  it  were  not  as 
neat  as  my  Nellie,  I  fear.  But  I  am  thankful 
to  find  that  there  are  no  mice  about ;  I  have 
not  heard  one  since  we  have  been  here." 

Mrs.  Ransom's  dread  of  a  mouse  was  a  mat- 
ter of  great  wonder  to  her  children,  who  could 
not  imagine  how  she  could  be  so  afraid  of  such 
"  cunning  little  things ;  "  and,  although  she 
really  did  try  to  control  it,  it  had  the  mastery 
over  her  whenever  she  saw  or  heard  one,  and 
was  a  source  of  great  and  constant  discomfort 
to  her. 


TV. 


A   COURTSHIP. 


ILL  yon  come  to  the  beach  now, 
Nellie  ?  "  said  Carrie. 
"  Yes,  if  mamma  has  nothing  more 
for  me  to  do,"  said  Nellie  ;  and  mamma  tell- 
ing her  that  there  was  nothing  at  present,  they 
were  soon  ready  and  on  their  way ;  Daisy  also 
being  allowed  to  accompany  them  on  promise 
of  being  very,  very  good  and  obedient  to 
Nellie. 

Nellie,  wise,  steady  little  woman  that  she 
was,  was  always  to  be  trusted  to  take  "care  of 
the  other  children,  and  to  keep  them  out  of 
mischief,  so  long  as  she  gave  her  mind  to  it ; 


A  Courtship.  71 

and  her  mother  had  no  fear  that  it  would  be 
otherwise  now,  after  the  lesson  of  last  night. 
Poor  Nellie  !  the  sight  of  that  black  bump  on 
Daisy's  forehead  was  sufficient  reminder  in 
itself,  even  had  she  not  formed  such  good  reso- 
lutions. She  felt  it,  I  believe,  more  than 
Daisy  did. 

An  unexpected  pleasure  awaited  Nellie  and 
Carrie  when  they  reached  the  beach,  for  there 
they  met,  not  only  the  little  Bradfords,  whom 
they  now  saw  frequently,  but  also  Lily  Norris 
and  Belle  Powers,  who  had  come  to  pass  the 
day  with  their  friends,  Maggie  and  Bessie. 

Daisy  and  Prankie  Bradford,  who  were  great 
cronies  and  allies,  were  soon  busily  engaged  in 
making  sand- pies,  and  conveying  them  in  their 
little  wagons  to  imaginary  customers  who 
were  supposed  to  live  upon  the  rocks. 

Nellie  had  brought  her  doll  with  her.  This 
was  a  doll  extraordinary,  a  doll  well  known 
and  far  famed.  It  had  been  presented  to 
Nellie  by  old  Mrs.  Howard,  as  a  reward  for 
her  kind  and  generous  behavior  to  her  little 


72  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

grand-daughter  Gracie,  at  a  time  when  the 
latter  had  fallen  into  trouble  and  disgrace  at 
school.  To  the  young  residents  of  Newport, 
the  chief  claim  to  distinction  of  the  Ransom 
family  lay  in  the  fact  that  in  their  midst 
resided  this  wonderful  creation  of  art.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Ransom  enjoyed  the  glorious  priv- 
ilege of  being  "  the  father  and  mother  of  the 
girl  that  has  the  doll."  Nellie  herself  was 
considered  the  most  enviable  of  mortals,  while 
her  brothers  and  sisters  shared  a  kind  of  re- 
flected glory.  To  meet  Nellie  when  she  had 
her  treasure  out  for  an  airing  was  an  event  in 
the  day;  and  frantic  rushes  were  made  to 
windows  or  down  to  gates  and  palings  when 
the  announcement  was  made, — "The  doll  is 
coming !  " 

It  was  impossible  that  Nellie  should  not  be 
gratified  by  all  this  flattering  homage  to  her 
darling,  and  she  received  such  tributes  with  a 
proud  but  still  generous  satisfaction,  for  she 
would  always  take  pains  to  walk  slowly  when 
she   saw  some   eager   eye  fastened  upon  the 


A  Courtship,  73 

doll,  or  cany  it  so  as  to  afford  the  best  view 
of  all  the  beauties  of  its  toilet ;  and,  choice 
and  careful  as  she  was  of  it,  she  was  always 
ready  when  she  met  any  of  her  young  friends 
to  allow  them  to  take  and  nurse  it  for  a  while. 

Of  late,  however,  even  this  doll  had  been 
neglected  and  put  aside  in  the  press  of  work 
which  Nellie  had  laid  upon  herself;  and  this 
was  the  first  time  in  several  days  that  she  had 
appeared  in  public.  So  Nellie  was  eagerly 
welcomed,  partly  on  her  own  account,  partly 
on  that  of  her  daughter ;  and  after  the  latter 
had  been  duly  admired,  and  ah'ed  and  oh'ed 
over  to  the  heart's  content  of  her  mamma  and 
the  spectators,  she  was  intrusted  to  Belle's 
tender  care  for  a  while,  Lily  having  the  prom- 
ise of  being  allowed  to  take  her  afterwards. 

Nellie  was  never  a  child  who  cared  much 
for  romping  play  or  frolic ;  quiet  games  and 
amusements  suited  her  much  better ;  therefore 
her  playmates  were  rather  surprised  when, 
having  seen  her  doll  safe  in  Belle's  keeping, 
she  proposed  a  race  down  the  length  of  the 


74  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

beach,  to  see  who  could  first  reach  a  given 
rock  she  pointed  out.  For  Nellie,  like  many 
another  little  child  —  ay,  and  grown  person 
too  —  when  they  mean  to  turn  over  a  new 
leaf,  was  now  disposed  to  run  into  the  oppsite 
extreme,  and  to  strive  to  make  up  for  lost 
time  by  taking  an  amount  of  play  and  exer- 
cise to  which  she  was  not  accustomed  at  any 
time. 

Maggie  and  Lily  readily  agreed  to  her  pro- 
posal, though  they  were  rather  surprised  at  it, 
as  coming  from  her ;  but  Bessie  declined,  not 
being  fond  of  a  romp,  and  Carrie,  too,  chose  to 
stay  with  Bessie  and  Belle. 

Nellie,  however,  soon  found  that  strength 
and  breath  gave  way,  unaccustomed  as  she 
had  been  for  weeks  past  to  a  proper  amount 
of  exercise ;  and  she  was  forced  to  sit  down 
upon  a  stone  and  watch  Lily  and  Maggie  as 
they  sped  onwards  towards  the  goal. 

They  flew  like  the  wind,  and  it  was  hard  to 
tell  which  was  there  the  first,  for  they  fairly 
ran  against   one   another  as  they  reached  it, 


A  Courtship.  75 

and,  laughing  and  breathless,  turned  to  look 
back  for  Nellie,  who  smilingly  nodded  to  them 
from  the  distance. 

Meanwhile  Bessie,  Belle,  and  Carrie  were 
amusing  themselves  more  quietly. 

"  Do  you  think  your  mamma  would  let  you 
come  to  our  house  this  afternoon  ?  "  said  Bes 
sie  to  Carrie.  "  Mamma"  said  we  might  ask 
you." 

"Oh,  yes !  I'm  sure  she  would.  She  quite 
approves  of  your  family,"  answered  Carrie. 

"  I  should  think  she  might,"  said  Belle. 

"  Mamma  thought  we'd  all  like  to  have  a 
good  play  together,"  said  Bessie.  "  And,  be- 
sides, we  have  some  new  things  to  show  you, 
Carrie.  We  have  some  white  mice  that  Wil- 
lie Richards  gave  us  ;  and  they  are  just  as 
tame,  as  tame." 

"  Oh  !  they're  too  cunning  for  any  thing," 
said  Belle.  "  They  hide  in  your  pocket,  or  up 
your  sleeve,  or  in  your  bosom  if  you'll  let 
them,  and  eat  out  of  your  fingers,  and  are  not 
one  bit  afraid." 


76  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

"  How  did  you  tame  them  so  ?  "  asked  Car* 
rie,  who  was  extremely  fond  of  dumb  pets  of 
all  kinds. 

"  We  did  not  do  it,"  said  Bessie.  "  Willie 
Richards  did  it  before  he  sent  them  to  us ; 
but  white  mice  can  be  tamed  very  easily. 
Harry  says  so." 

"  Gray  mice  can  be  tamed  too,"  said  Belle. 

"  Why,  no  !  "  said  Carrie.  "  They  always 
scamper  away  from  you  as  fast  as  they  can 
go." 

"  Not  always,"  said  Belle,  with  the  air  of 
one  who  had  good  authority  for  her  statement. 
"  Not  always,  do  they,  Bessie?  For  there's  a 
little  mouse  lives  in  our  parlor  at  the  hotel  in 
New  York,  and  he's  just  as  tame  as  he  can  be, 
and  he  comes  out  every  evening  to  be  fed." 

"  And  do  you  feed  him  ?  "  asked  Carrie. 

"  Yes,"  said  Belle.  "  Every  evening  I  bring 
a  piece  of  bread  or  cracker  or  cake  from  the 
dinner  table  for  him,  and  when  papa  and  I 
come  in  the  parlor  he  is  always  on  the  hearth 
waiting  for  us.     Then  papa  sits  down  by  the 


A  Courtship.  77 

table,  and  the  mousey  runs  up  his  leg  and 
jumps  on  the  table,  and  then  he  takes  the 
crumbs  I  put  down  for  him.  Oh,  he's  so 
cunning,  and  his  eyes  are  so  bright !  And  he 
even  lets  me  smooth  his  fur  with  my  finger." 

"  How  did  you  make  him  so  tame  ?  "  asked 
Carrie. 

Belle  colored  and  hesitated,  looking  down 
upon  the  doll  in  her  arms,  and  seeming  as  if 
she  would  much  rather  not  tell  the  story ;  but 
Carrie,  who  was  not  very  quick  to  see  where 
another's  feelings  were  concerned,  repeated 
her  question. 

"Well,"  said  Belle,  slowly  at  first,  and  then, 
as  she  became  interested  in  her  own  story, 
with  more  ease,  "he  used  to  run  about  the 
room,  but  was  not  one  bit  tame,  and  papa  told 
the  waiter  to  set  a  trap  for  him.  And  the 
man  did  ;  and  one  morning  when  we  went  in 
the  room  the  little  mouse  was  caught.  And 
he  looked  so  cunning  and  so  funny,  peeping 
through  the  bars  of  the  trap,  that  I  felt  very 
sorry   about  him;   and,  when   the   man   was 


78  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

going  to  take  him  away  to  drown  him,  I  cried 
very  hard,  and  begged  papa  to  let  me  keep 
him  in  the  trap.  And  because  I  felt  so  badly 
papa  said  I  might,  but  I  must  feed  him,  so  he 
would  not  starve ;  and  he  very  'spressly  told 
me  I  must  not  lift  the  door  of  the  trap,  for 
fear  the  mouse  would  run  out.  Papa  thought 
I  would  soon  grow  tired  of  him,  —  he  said  so 
afterwards ;  but  I  did  not,  and  I  grew  very 
attached  to  that  mouse,  and  he  to  me.  But — 
but  "  —  Belle's  voice  faltered  again,  and  she 
looked  ashamed  —  "but  I  disobeyed  my  papa, 
and  one  day  I  opened  the  door  of  the  trap  a 
te-en-y  little  bit,  just  a  very  little  bit ;  but  the 
mouse  ran  out  just  as  quick,  as  quick,  and 
scampered  away  to  the  fireplace  where  his  hole 
was." 

"  Did  your  papa  scold  you  ?  "  asked  Carrie, 
as  Belle  paused  to  take  breath. 

"  No,"  answered  Belle,  remorsefully,  "  he 
didn't  scold  me,  but  he  looked  very  sorry 
when  I  told  him.  He  always  looks  sorry  at 
me  when  I  am  not  good,  but  he  never  scolds 


A  Courtship.  79 

me,  and  that  makes  me  feel  worse  than  if  he 
was  ever  so  cross  to  me." 

"  Well,  what  about  the  mouse  ? "  asked 
Carrie. 

"  That  very  evening  I  was  sitting  on  papa's 
knee,  talking  to  him,"  continued  Belle,  "  and 
what  do  you  think  ?  why,  the  first  thing  I  saw 
was  the  mouse  on  the  hearth  looking  right  at 
me.  I  had  a  maccaroon,  and  papa  crumbled 
a  little  bit  of  it  on  the  floor,  and  the  mouse 
came  and  eat  it.  Then  he  played  about  a 
little  while ;  we  kept  very  still,  and  at  last  he 
ran  away.  But  the  next  night,  and  every 
night  after  that,  he  came  ;  and  at  last  one 
evening,  first  thing  we  knew,  he  jumped  on 
papa's  foot  and  ran  up  his  leg ;  and  now  every 
evening  he  does  that,  and  sits  on  the  table  till 
I  feed  him." 

"How  cunning!"  said  Carrie.  "I  wish  I 
had  one  ;  but  I'd  rather  have  a  white  mouse." 

"  The  white  mice  are  prettier,  but  then 
they  are  stupider  than  Belle's  mouse,"  said 
Bessie.     "  They  don't  do  much  but  eat  and 


80  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

go  to  sleep.  I  don't  think  they  are  so  very 
inter  esting." 

"  There's  Daisy  crying  again,"  said  Carrie. 
"  Daisy,  what's  the  matter  now  ?  "  raising  her 
voice. 

Daisy  only  cried  the  louder,  and  the  three 
children  ran  forward  to  where  she  sat  upon 
the  sand,  the  picture  of  woe  ;  while  Frankie, 
busily  engaged  in  piling  sand  pies  into  his 
wagon,  remained  sublimely  indifferent  to  her 
distress.  Nellie,  Maggie,  and  Lily  came  run- 
ning back  also  to  see  what  was  the  matter. 

"  What  are  you  crying  for,  Daisy  ?  "  asked 
Nellie.  "  Frankie,  do  you  know  what  is  the 
matter  with  her  ?  " 

"  He  told  me  he'd  marry  me  if  I  let  him 
mix  the  pies,"  sobbed  the  distressed  Daisy ; 
"  and  now  he  won't." 

"  Now,  Daisy,  you  ought  to  be  ashamed  to 
say  that,"  cried  Frankie,  stopping  short  with 
a  pie  in  each  hand,  and  looking  with  a  much 
aggrieved  air  at  his  little  playmate.  "  Yes,  I 
did  promise  to  marry  her  if  she'd  let  me  make 


A  Courtship.  81 

the  pies,"  he  continued,  turning  to  Nellie, 
"  and  so  I  will ;  but  I  promised  three  other 
girls  before  her,  and  so  I  told  her  she'd  have 
to  wait  till  they  were  all  dead,  and  she 
wouldn't  have  patience,  but  just  went  and 
cried  about  it.  I  can't  help  it  if  so  many  girls 
want  to  marry  me,"  added  the  young  sultan, 
tenderly  laying  his  sand  pies  in  the  wagon. 

Daisy  had  ceased  her  cries  to  listen  to 
Frankie's  statement  of  the  case;  but  her 
spirits  were  so  depressed  at  once  more  hear- 
ing this  indefinite  postponement  of  her  matri- 
monial prospects  that  she  broke  forth  into  a 
fresh  wail  of  despair. 

"Oh,  Daisy !  "  said  Nellie,  "  what  shall  we 
do  with  you :  you're  growing  to  be  a  real  cry- 
baby." 

"Yes,"  said  Master  Frankie,  seeing  his 
way  at  once  to  a  peaceful  solution  of  his  dif- 
ficulties. "  And  I  shall  never,  never  marry 
a  cry-baby.  You'd  better  hurry  up  and  be 
good,  Daisy." 

At  this  terrible  threat,  Daisy's  shrieks  sub- 

6 


82  JSTelliJs  Housekeeping. 

sided  into  broken  sobs ;  and  Frankie,  touched 
by  the  extreme  desolation  of  her  whole  aspect, 
farther  consoled  her,  by  telling  her  if  she  would 
dry  her  eyes  and  be  good,  he  would  let  her 
"  make  two  mixes,  and  marry  her  besides. " 
At  which  condescension  on  the  part  of  her 
chosen  lord  and  master,  Daisy  was  in  another 
instant  beaming  with  smiles,  and  thrusting 
her  dimpled  hands  into  the  wet  sand;  and  the 
older  children  left  her  and  Frankie  to  their 
play. 

All  but  Bessie,  that  is,  who  lingered  behind 
to  give  her  brother  a  little  moral  lecture. 

For  Bessie's  sense  of  justice  had  been 
shocked  by  Frankie' s  arrangements,  and  the 
hard  bargain  he  had  driven  with  the  devoted 
Daisy,  who  upon  all  occasions  submitted  her- 
self to  his  whims,  and  let  him  rule  her  with  a 
rod  of  iron.  Moreover,  Bessie  considered  his 
gallantry  very  much  at  fault,  and  thought  it 
quite  necessary  to  speak  her  mind  on  the 
subject. 

"  Frankie,"  she  said  with  gravity,  "  you  are 


A  Courtship.  83 

selfish  to  Daisy,  I  think.  You  ought  to  let  her 
make  half  the  pies." 

"I'm  letting  her  do  two  mixes,"  said 
Frankie  ;  "  and,  besides,  she  said  I  needn't  let 
her  do  any  if  I'd  marry  her.     That's  fair." 

"No,  it's  not.  It's  not  fair,  nor  polite 
either,"  said  Bessie,  reprovingly.  "  You 
oughtn't  to  make  it  a  compliment  for  you  to 
marry  Daisy.     It  is  a  compliment  to  you." 

This  was  a  new  view  of  the  subject  to 
Frankie,  and,  as  he  stood  gazing  at  Daisy 
and  considering  it,  Bessie  added, — 

"  Anyhow,  you  ought  to  let  her  do  half. 
You're  not  good  to  be  so  selfish." 

Daisy  meanwhile  had  been  balancing  in  her 
own  mind  the  comparative  advantages  of  the 
present  and  the  future  good,  and  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  she  had  made  a  foolish  choice, 
and  that  the  mixing  of  sand  pies  was  more  to 
be  desired  than  the  promise,  whose  fulfilment 
seemed  so  far  distant ;  and  now,  with  a  depre- 
cating look  at  Frankie,  she  made  known  this 
change  in  her  sentiments. 


84  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

"  1  b'lieve  I'd  rafer  mix  half  the  mud  than 
be  your  wife,  Frankie,"  she  said.  "  I'll  just 
'scuse  myself  and  do  the  pies." 

"  Oh !  I'll  let  you  do  half,"  said  Frankie, 
encouragingly,  "  and  marry  you  too,  Daisy. 
I  really  will." 

But  Daisy,  before  whom  Bessie's  words  had 
also  placed  the  matter  in  a  new  light,  now 
felt  the  advantage  of  her  position,  and  was 
disposed  to  make  the  most  of  it,  as  she  found 
Frankie  inclined  to  become  more  yielding. 

"  I'll  see  about  marrying  you,"  she  said 
coquettishly,  "but  I  zvill  do  half  the   pies." 

"  Yes,  yes,  you  shall,"  replied  Frankie,  now 
extremely  desirous  to  secure  the  prize  the 
moment  there  seemed  to  be  a  possibility  of  its 
slipping  through  his  fingers ;  "  and  you'll 
really  marry  me,  won't  you,  Daisy  ? " 

"  Maybe  so,"  said  Daisy,  a  little  victorious, 
as  was  only  natural,  at  finding  the  tables  thus 
turned. 

"  Ah !  not  maybe,  Daisy.  Say  you  truly 
will,  dear   Daisy,  darling  Daisy.     You   shall 


A  Courtship,  85 

mix  all  the  pies,  Daisy,  and  I'll  be  your  horse, 
too." 

"  I'll  tell  you  anofer  time,"  said  Daisy, 
much  enjoying  the  new  position  of  affairs. 

"  Ah  !  no,  Daisy,"  pleaded  the  now  humble 
suitor :  "  if  you'll  promise  now,  I'll  —  I'll  — 
Daisy,  I'll  give  you  my  white  mice." 

Daisy  plumped  herself  down  upon  the  sand, 
and  gazed  at  Frankie,  astounded  at  the  magni- 
tude of  this  offer,  in  return  for  the  promise 
which,  in  her  secret  soul,  she  was  longing  to 
give. 

"  Maybe  your  mamma  won't  let  you  give  'em 
away,"  she  said  at  length ;  and  then,  with  re- 
lenting in  her  generous  little  heart,  she  added, 
"  and  I  wouldn't  like  to  take  'em  from  you, 
Frankie :  it's  too  much." 

"Yes,  yes,  mamma  would  let  me,"  said 
Frankie,  eagerly.  "  Bessie  has  a  pair,  and 
Maggie  a  pair,  and  I  a  pair ;  and  mamma  said 
that  was  too  many,  and  she  won't  mind  one 
bit  if  I  give  you  mine.  And  I  don't  care  for 
them  at  all,  Daisy,  they're  such  stupid  things. 
I'd  just  as  lieve  give  them  to  you." 


86  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

"Well,"  said  Daisy,  shaking  her  curls  afc 
him,  "  then  I'll  promise ;  and  I  only  want  to 
mix  half  the  pies,  Frankie,  I  wouldn't  do  'em 
all,  oh !  not  for  any  thing." 

This  amicable  agreement  being  sealed  with 
a  kiss,  and  peace  thoroughly  restored,  Bessie 
left  the  two  little  ones  to  their  "  mixes,"  and 
went  back  to  the  others,  whom  she  entertained 
with  an  account  of  Frankie' s  complete  defeat 
and  submission.  They  rather  rejoiced  at  it, 
for  the  way  in  which  Frankie  usually  lorded  it 
over  the  submissive  Daisy  did  not  at  all  agree 
with  their  ideas  of  propriety. 

"  But  do  you  think  Frankie  really  means  to 
give  the  white  mice  to  Daisy  ? "  asked  Nellie. 

"  "Why,  yes,"  answered  Bessie,  "  he  promised, 
you  know." 

"But,"  said  Nellie,  doubtfully,  "I  do  not 
think  mamma  would  like  Daisy  to  have  them." 

"  Oh !  she  needn't  mind,"  said  Maggie. 
"  Our  mamma  did  say  she  was  sorry  Willie 
Richards  had  sent  three  pair;  and  Frankie 
has  not  really  cared  for  his  since  the  first  day. 


A  Courtship.  87 

They're  too  quiet  for  him.  Daisy  might  just 
as  well  have  them." 

"  But  I  don't  know  if  mamma  would  care  to 
have  them  in  the  house,"  said  Nellie.  "  She 
is  so  afraid  of  mice." 

"  What,  a  grown-up  lady  afraid  of  white 
mice  !  "  said  Lily. 

"  Well,  she's  afraid  of  real  mice,"  said 
Nellie,  "  and  I'm  not  sure  she  wouldn't  be  of 
white  ones." 

"  Pooh !  I  don't  believe  she  would  be,"  said 
Carrie.     "  I  wish  we  could  have  them." 

"  I  shouldn't  think  your  mother  would  mind 
white  mice,"  said  Belle :  "  you  can  ask  her." 

"  You're  all  to  come  to  our  house  this 
afternoon,  you  know,"  said  Maggie,  "  and  then 
you  can  see  them ;  and  bring  Daisy  too, 
Nellie :  we  want  her." 

After  a  little  more  talk  and  play,  the  children 
separated,  Nellie  going  home  with  her  sisters, 
and  promising  to  come  over  to  Mrs.  Bradford's 
house  as  early  in  the  afternoon  as  possible. 

"  What  makes    you   go   home   so   soon  ? " 


88  JVellzVs  Housekeeping. 

asked  Carrie,  supposing  that  it  was  those 
"horrid  lessons"  which  took  Nellie  away. 

"  I  thought  mamma  might  have  something 
else  she  wanted  me  to  do,"  said  Nellie,  "  and 
we  have  been  down  on  the  beach  a  good 
while." 

"  What  makes  you  do  the  housekeeping," 
asked  Carrie,  —  "just  to  help  mamma,  or 
because  you  like  to  ? " 

"  Mamma  asked  me  to  do  it  to  help  her," 
said  Nellie,  without  a  thought  of  her  mother's 
real  object  in  proposing  the  plan,  "  but  I  do 
like  to  do  it,  it  is  real  fun." 

"  I'd  like  to  do  something  to  help  mamma," 
said  Carrie. 

"  Me  too,"  put  in  Daisy. 

"  I  think  you  both  could  do  something  to 
help  her,  if  you  chose,"  said  Nellie,  with  a  little 
hesitation ;  for  she  was  a  modest,  rather  shy 
child,  who  never  thought  it  her  place  to  cor- 
rect or  give  advice  even  to  her  own  brothers 
and  sisters. 

"  How  can  I  ? "  asked  Carrie,  and,  — 


A  CoartsJiif.  89 

"  How  could  I  ?  "  mimicked  Daisy,  looking 
up  at  her  sister  as  she  trotted  along  by  her 
side. 

"  Well,"  said  Nellie,  "  I  think  you,  Carrie, 
could  be  more  obedient  to  mamma." 

"  I'm  sure  I  do  mind  mamma,"  said  Carrie, 
indignantly.  "  I  never  do  any  thing  she  tells 
me  not  to." 

"  No,"  said  Nellie,  "you  never  do  the  things 
she  tells  you  you  must  not  do,  and  you  gener- 
ally do  what  she  says  you  must  do ;  but — but — 
perhaps  you  won't  like  me  to  say  it,  Carrie, 
but  sometimes  you  do  things  which  mamma 
has  not  forbidden,  but  which  we  both  feel 
pretty  sure  she  would  not  like  ;  and  then,  when 
she  knows  it,  it  makes  trouble  for  her." 

Carrie  pouted  a  little,  she  could  not  deny 
Nellie's  accusation,  but  still  she  was  not 
pleased. 

"  Pooh !  "  she  said,  "  I  don't  mean  that. 
I  mean  I  want  to  do  some  very  great  help  for 
her,  something  it  would  be  nice  to  say  I  had 
done." 


00  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

"You're  not  large  enough  for  that  yet," 
said  Nellie,  "  and  I  don't  believe  you  could 
help  her  more  than  by  being  good  all  the 
time." 

"  Then  why  don't  you  be  good  all  the 
time  ? "  said  Carrie,  not  at  all  pleased.  "  I 
shouldn't  think  it  was  a  great  help  to  mamma 
to  let  Daisy  fall  out  of  bed." 

Nellie  colored,  but  made  no  reply. 

Not  so  Daisy,  who  at  once  took  up  arms  in 
Nellie's  defence.  Seizing  upon  her  hand,  and 
holding  it  caressingly  to  her  cheek,  she  said  to 
Carrie,  — 

uNow  don't  you  make  my  Nellie  feel  bad 
about  it.  That  falling  out  of  bed  wasn't  any 
thing  much ;  and  my  bump  feels,  oh !  'most 
well  this  morning.  I  b'lieve  it  feels  better'n 
it  did  before  I  bumped  it.     Nellie,  what  could 

1  do  to  help  mamma  ?  " 

"  If  you  tried  not  to  cry  so  often,  Daisy, 
darling,  it  would  help  mamma.  It  worries 
her  when  you  cry,  and  sometimes  you  cry  for 
such  very  little  things." 


A  Courtshif.  tji 

"Does  she  think  a  bear  is  eating  me  up 
when  she  hears  me  cry  and  can't  see  me?" 
asked  Daisy,  whose  mind  was  greatly  interested 
in  these  quadrupeds. 

"No,"  said  Nellie,  "  'cause  she  knows  there 
are  no  bears  here  to  eat  little  girls ;  but  it 
troubles  her  to  hear  you  cry.  Besides,  you 
are  growing  too  big  to  cry  so  much,  and  you 
don't  want  people  to  call  you  a  cry-baby,  do 
you  ? " 

"  No,  I  don't,"  answered  Daisy,  emphatically, 
"  'cause  then  Frankie  won't  marry  me.  And  1 
don't  want  to  t'ouble  mamma,  Nellie.  But 
how  can  I  help  crying  when  I  hurt  myse'f  ? " 

"  Oh !  you  can  cry  when  you  hurt  yourself," 
said  Nellie,  "  but  try  not  to  cry  for  very  little 
things ;  and  we'll  all  see  what  we  can  do  to 
help  her.  I  believe  I  have  been  selfish  in  read- 
ing and  studying  all  the  time  lately,  and  not 
thinking  much  about  other  people,  especially 
mamma,  so  I  will  give  up  my  books  for  a  while, 
and  try  to  help  her  about  the  house;  and 
Daisy  will  try  not  to  cry  so  much  ;  and  —  and 


92  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

Carrie  will  be  careful  not  to  do  the  things 
mamma  would  not  like  her  to  do  ;  will  you 
not,  Carrie  ? " 

Carrie  made  no  answer ;  she  was  not  molli- 
fied by  Nellie's  taking  blame  to  herself  for  her 
own  short-comings,  but  only  resented  the  gen- 
tle reproof  she  had  herself  received.  Perhaps 
one  reason  was  that  she  felt  she  deserved 
it. 

But  pet  Daisy  took  hers  in  good  part. 

"  I  will,"  she  said,  clapping  her  hands,  and 
looking  as  if  tears  were  always  the  farthest 
thing  possible  from  her  bright  face,  "  I  will 
try.  I  won't  cry  a  bit  if  I  can  help  it,  but 
just  laugh,  and  be  good  all  the  time,  unless  I 
hurt  myse'f,  oh  !  very,  very  much,  indeed.  Nel- 
lie," pausing  in  her  capers  with  an  air  of  deep 
consideration,  —  "  but,  Nellie,  if  somebody  cut 
off  my  nose,  I  ought  to  cry,  oughtn't  I  ? " 

"  Oh,  yes  !  certainly,"  laughed  Nellie. 

"  And  if  a  bear  did  come,  I  could  sc'eam 
very  loud,  couldn't  I  ? " 

"  Yes,  whenever  that  bear  of  yours  comes, 


A  Courtship.  93 

you  can  cry  as  loud  as  you  please,"  answered 
Nellie. 

"  Oh !  he's  not  mine,"  said  Daisy.  "  He's 
a  black  man's,  I  b'lieve.  I  'spect  he's  an  old 
black  Injin  man's.  There's  mamma  on  the 
piazza,  an'  there's  two  ladies  come  to  see  her  " 


Ti 


WHITE   MICE. 


jHE  ladies  with  mamma  proved  to  be 
two  aunts  who  had  come  to  pass  a 
part  of  the  day  with  her. 
They  had  brought  pretty  gifts  for  each  one 
of  the  children :  a  series  of  books  for  Nellie,  — 
for  they  knew  her  tastes  ;  a  wax  doll  for  Car- 
rie ;  and  a  doll's  tea-set  for  Daisy.  So  it  was 
no  wonder  if  the  white  mice  were  for  the  time 
forgotten  in  the  children's  delight  over  their 
new  treasures. 

Carrie's  doll  was  the  handsomest  one  she 
had  ever  owned ;  not  by  any  means  equal  to 
Nellie's  nonpareil,  it  is  true,  but  she  was  more 
than  contented  with  it. 


White  Mice,  95 

Nellie  was  equally  pleased  with  her  books ; 
but  after  looking  at  the  pictures,  and  seeing 
"  how  very  interesting  "  the  series  looked,  she 
resolutely  put  them  away,  and  devoted  herself 
to  the  entertainment  of  her  aunts,  believing 
that  as  "  mamma's  housekeeper  "  a  part  of 
this  duty  devolved  upon  her.  Moreover,  she 
found  that  her  "  help  "  was  needed  by  her 
mother  in  certain  little  preparations  for  this 
unexpected  company.  Perhaps  in  her  new 
zeal  she  did  more  than  was  needful,  and  might 
have  left  some  things  to  the  servants  ;  but  her 
mother  was  so  glad  to  see  her  occupied  and 
content  without  her  beloved  study  books,  that 
she  put  no  check  upon  her. 

Carrie,  too,  being  very  anxious  to  carry  out 
her  new  resolution  of  making  herself  of  use 
to  mamma,  was  very  busy,  and  more  than  once 
had  her  fingers  where  they  were  not  wanted. 
She  ended  her  performances  by  a  mistake 
which  alarmed  her  very  much,  believing  as 
she  did  that  she  had  done  great  mischief. 

The    grocery-man  having  brought  several 


96  Nellie's  Housekeeping, 

articles  from  the  store  at  a  time  when  it  was 
not  convenient  for  the  cook  to  attend  to  them 
at  once,  they  had  been  left  standing  upon  the 
kitchen  porch.  Such  as  were  to  go  to  the  store- 
room were  by  Nellie's  direction  now  carried 
there ;  but  there  were  others  which  were  to  be 
left  under  the  cook's  care,  among  them  some 
rock-salt  "and  some  saltpetre. 

Carrie  being,  as  I  have  said,  seized  with  the 
desire  of  making  herself  useful,  went  peering 
from  one  to  another  of  these  things.  Seeing 
the  salt  in  one  bucket,  and  the  saltpetre  in 
another,  neither  of  the  vessels  being  full,  and 
not  knowing  there  was  any  difference  between 
them,  she  thought  the  one  pail  would  hold 
both,  and  forthwith  emptied  the  one  into  the 
other. 

"  An'  whatever  have  ye  been  about  then,  Miss 
Carrie  ? "  she  heard  the  next  instant  from 
Catherine  the  cook,  and  the  woman  stood 
beside  her  with  uplifted  hands,  looking  from 
the  empty  bucket  to  the  full  one.  "  If  she 
ain't  been  and  emptied  all  the  salt-pater  into 


White  Mice.  97 

me  rock-salt,"  she  cried  to  one  of  the  other 
servants  who  was  near. 

"  Oh  my !  and  saltpetre  explodes  and  goes 
off  sometimes,  when  it  is  put  with  other  things," 
called  Nellie,  who  had  heard  from  the  store- 
room. "  Children,  come  away  from  it ;  it  might 
be  dangerous." 

Away  went  Carrie,  frightened  half  out  of 
her  senses,  and,  rushing  into  the  room  where 
her  mother  sat  with  her  aunts,  cried  in  a  tone 
of  great  distress,  — 

"Oh!  mamma,  mamma,  I've  put  all  the 
Peter  salt  into  the  other  salt,  and  Nellie  thinks 
we'll  blow  up." 

The  smile  with  which  her  mother  and  the 
other  ladies  heard  this  alarming  announcement 
somewhat  reassured  her,  and  she  soon  learned 
that  she  had  done  no  such  very  great  harm; 
but,  her  brothers  Johnny  and  Bob  hearing  the 
story,  it  was  long  before  she  heard  the  last  of 
the  "  Peter  salt." 

With  so  much  else  to  think  about,  it  is  not 
very  surprising  that  the  little  girls  should  for- 


98  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

get  the  white  mice ;  and,  even  up  to  the  time 
of  their  leaving  home  to  go  to  Mrs.  Bradford's 
house,  Nellie  did  not  remember  to  ask  her 
mother  if  she  would  object  to  them. 

Daisy,  mindful  of  the  advantage  she  had 
gained  in  the  morning,  and  very  much  enjoy- 
ing the  position  of  affairs,  was  extremely  coy 
and  coquettish  with  Frankie  this  afternoon ; 
while  he,  anxious  to  return  to  his  old  stand- 
point with  her,  would  have  given  her  every 
thing  she  fancied,  and  courted  her  favor  by 
every  means  in  his  power.  So  you  may  be 
sure  that  he  repeated  his  offer  of  the  white 
mice,  for  which  he  really  did  not  care  much,  so 
that  it  was  no  great  act  of  generosity  to  give 
them  up  to  his  young  lady-love. 

"  They're  my  own,  my  very  own,"  said  the 
delighted  child,  showing  her  prize  to  Nellie, 
and  the  others.  "  Frankie  says  so.  Just  see 
this  one  run  up  my  arm,  and  the  ofer  one  is 
way  down  in  my  pottet.  Oh !  they're  so  cun- 
ning, and  my  very  own.  There  comes  that  one 
out  of  my  pottet." 


White  Mice.  99 

Daisy  was  too  much  absorbed  with  her  mice 
to  notice  the  grave,  doubtful  face  with  which 
Nellie  heard  her,  and  watched  the  tame  little 
creatures  as  they  ran  over  her  hands  and 
arms,  and  up  to  her  shoulder.  Nellie  could 
not  bear  to  damp  her  little  sister's  pleasure, 
but  she  feared  that  her  mother  would  be 
nervous  and  troubled  by  their  presence. 

"  Did  you  ask  your  mamma  if  Daisy  could 
have  them  ?  "  asked  Maggie,  noticing  the  ex- 
pression of  her  face,  and  guessing  the  cause. 

"  No,  I  quite  forgot  it,"  answered  Nellie ; 
"  and  I  can't  bear  to  disappoint  the  dear  little 
thing  ;  and  yet  —  and  yet  —  I  am  'most  sure 
mamma  will  not  like  to  have  them  about." 

"  I  don't  believe  she'd  mind,"  said  Bessie. 
"  Our  Aunt  Annie  is  dreadfully  afraid  of  real 
mice,  but  she  don't  mind  those  white  ones 
a  bit." 

"  Suppose  you  take  them  home  with  you,  and 
see  what  your  mamma  says,"  suggested  Mag- 
gie. "  If  she  will  not  let  Daisy  keep  them,  then 
you  could  bring  them  back  to-morrow ;  but  I 


ioo  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

feel  'most  sure  she  will  not  be  willing  to  disap- 
point Daisy.  Just  see  how  delighted  she  looks, 
Nellie.,, 

"Or  if  your  mamma  won't  let  Daisy  keep 
them,  Johnny  could  bring  them  back  to-night," 
said  Bessie. 

Nellie  was  still  doubtful ;  but  it  was  quite 
true  that  she  herself  could  not  bear  to  check 
Daisy's  delight  by  even  a  hint  that  their 
mother  would  not  admire  or  tolerate  the  white 
mice ;  and,  though  against  her  better  judgment, 
she  resolved  to  let  the  child  carry  them  home, 
and  then  act  as  circumstances,  or  rather  mam- 
ma's wishes,  dictated.  It  would  have  been 
better  to  have  told  Daisy  at  once,  Nellie  knew 
that;  but  she  always  shrank  from  inflicting 
pain,  or  saying  that  which  was  disagreeable  to 
another;  and,  besides,  she  had  a  faint  hope 
that  her  mother  might  not  so  much  mind  the 
white  mice.  Miss  Annie  Stanton's  example 
was  an  encouraging  one  in  this  matter. 

So  after  an  afternoon  pleasantly  spent  in 
play,  during  which  Daisy  could  scarcely  be 


White  Mice.  101 

persuaded  to  part  from  her  new  pets  for  a 
single  moment,  the  Ransom  children  said 
good-by  to  their  young  friends,  and  turned 
their  faces  homeward. 

Daisy  walked  sedately  along  by  Nellie's 
side,  not  skipping  and  jumping  as  was  her 
wont,  lest  she  should  disturb  the  precious 
white  mice,  one  of  which  lay  curled  in  her 
"  pottet,"  the  other  in  a  box  also  given  to  her 
by  Frankie,  which  she  held  tenderly  clasped 
with  both  hands  to  her  breast.  The  child's 
face  was  radiant  as  she  talked  of  her  treasures, 
and  every  now  and  then  peeped  within  the  box 
where  one  of  them  lay ;  and  Nellie,  watching 
and  listening  to  her,  was  ready  to  believe  that 
mamma  could  not  and  would  not  have  any  fear 
of  the  pretty  little  things. 

Still ! 

She,  Nellie,  had  intended  to  be  the  first  to 
speak  to  her  mother  of  the  white  mice,  and  to 
tell  Daisy  to  keep  them  out  of  sight  till  mam- 
ma should  hear  of  them,  and  her  permission 
be  gained  to  bring  them  into  the  house.     She 


102  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

was  just  about  to  speak  to  Daisy  as  they  en- 
tered the  gate,  when  her  attention  was  called 
for  the  moment  by  Johnny,  who  begged  her 
to  help  him  unravel  a  knot  in  his  fish-line, 
knowing  well  —  impetuous  fellow !  —  that  her 
patient  fingers  were  better  at  that  than  his 
own  stronger  but  less  careful  ones. 

All  that  needed  patience  and  gentleness  it 
seemed  natural  to  bring  to  steady,  painstaking 
Nellie. 

But  just  at  the  moment  that  she  was  en- 
gaged with  Johnny's  line,  and  when  she  had 
for  the  time  forgotten  Daisy  and  the  white 
mice,  the  little  one  spied  her  mother  coming 
out  upon  the  piazza ;  and,  anxious  to  display 
her  prize,  she  scampered  away  over  the  lawn 
as  fast  as  her  feet  could  carry  her,  Carrie  fol- 
lowing. 

"  Mamma,  mamma ! "  cried  Daisy  as  she 
reached  her  mother's  side,  "  dear  mamma, 
just  see  what  Frankie  Bradford  gave  me. 
All  for  my  own,  my  very  own,  to  keep  for 
ever,  an'  ever,  an'  ever,  he  said  so." 


White  Mice,  103 

And,  plunging  her  hand  into  her  pocket,  she 
brought  forth  one  mouse  and  laid  it  in  triumph 
on  her  mother's  lap;  then,  opening  the  box, 
thrust  the  other  beneath  her  very  eyes,  her 
own  chubby  face  fairly  brimming  over  with 
dimples  and  smiles. 

Mrs.  Ransom  turned  a  shade  paler,  shrank 
back  a  little,  then  with  a  forced  smile  said,  — 

"  Yes,  darling,  very  pretty.  I  dare  say  you 
are  very  much  pleased ;  but  suppose  you  put 
this  little  fellow  in  the  box  with  his  brother. 
It  is  a  better  place  for  him  than  mamma's 
lap." 

"  Oh,  no  !  mamma,  he'd  just  as  lieve  stay  in 
your  lap,"  said  Daisy.  "  He's  not  a  bit  af 'aid 
of  you.  He  likes  peoples.  See,  he'll  run  right 
up  your  arm ; "  and,  taking  the  mouse  up,  she 
would  have  laid  it  upon  her  mother's  hand, 
had  not  Mrs.  Ransom  drawn  back  with  an 
unmistakable  shudder  and  expression  of  dis- 
gust which  struck  even  the  unconscious  Daisy. 

"  Don't,  darling,  don't,"  she  said  hurriedly, 
but  gently,  unwilling  to  wound  her  little  girl, 


104  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

or  to  give  her  any  dread  of  the  harmless 
creatures,  but  still  feeling  that  she  could  not 
bear  them  near  her.  "  Take  them  away, 
my  pet:  you  know  mamma  does  not  like 
mice." 

"  They're  not  weally  mice,  mamma,"  said 
the  little  one,  opening  great  astonished  eyes  at 
her  mother,  but  at  the  same  time  obeying  her 
words  and  drawing  farther  away  with  her 
mice,  —  "  they're  only  white  ones,  not  weally 
ones." 

"  Yes,  darling,"  said  her  mother,  trying  to 
control  her  disgust  for  the  child's  sake,  "  but 
mamma  does  not  like  any  mice.  Suppose  you 
put  them  away." 

Just  at  this  moment  Nellie  ran  up  the  piazza 


"  0  mamma !  "  she  said,  seeing  the  expres- 
sion of  her  mother's  face,  "  I  meant  to  tell  you 
about  the  white  mice  before  Daisy  brought 
them  near  you  or  showed  them  to  you,  but  she 
was  too  quick  for  me.  Daisy,  darling,  take 
them   away;   you  see  mamma  does  not  like 


White  Mice.  105 

them,  and  you  must  take  them  back  to  Frankie 
Bradford." 

To  have  seen  Daisy's  face  ! 

She  could  not  believe  it  possible  that  any 
one  should  really  ha\e  a  fear  or  dislike  to 
"  such  cunning  little  things "  as  her  white 
mice,  and  she  stood  looking  from  mother  to 
sister,  dismay,  disappointment,  and  wonder 
mingling  in  her  expression. 

Poor  little  Daisy ! 

Nellie  hastily  explained  to  her  mother,  tell- 
ing her  how  she  had  been  detained  by  Johnny, 
and  that  she  had  not  intended  to  allow  her  to 
see  the  mice  until  she  had  learned  whether  or 
no  they  would  annoy  her ;  and  ending  by  say 
ing  that  she  was  sure  Daisy  would  be  a  good 
girl  and  carry  them  back  to  Frankie. 

Nellie  herself,  Mrs.  Eansom  and  Carrie,  all 
expected  to  hear  Daisy  break  into  one  of  her 
dismal  wails  at  this  proposal;  but,  to  their 
surprise,  this  did  not  follow. 

True,  the  little  face  worked  sadly,  and 
Daisy  winked  her  eyes  very  hard,  trying  to 


106  Nellie's  Hotisckeefing. 

keep  back  the  gathering  tears,  while  her  bosom, 
to  which  she  held  the  mice  tightly  clasped, 
rose  and  fell  with  the  sobs  she  struggled  to 
suppress. 

"  Mamma,"  she  at  last  gasped  rather  than 
said,  —  "  mamma,  I'm  trying  very  hard :  I  am 
trying  not  to  be  a  cry-baby  any  more,  'cause 
Nellie  said  that  was  a  good  way  to  be  a  help  to 
you ;  but,  mamma,  oh  !  I  do  'most  have  to  be  a 
cry-baby  if  you  don't  love  my  mice,  'cause  I  do 
love  'em  so." 

"  My  precious  lambie  !  "  said  the  mother ; 
and,  forgetting  her  own  aversion  to  Daisy's 
pets  in  her  sympathy  for  the  child,  she  held 
out  her  arms  to  her,  and  gathered  her,  mice 
and  all,  within  their  loving  clasp. 

Thoughtful  Nellie  in  another  instant  had 
taken  the  mice  from  Daisy's  hold,  and  shutting 
both  within  the  box  laid  it  on  a  chair  at  a 
distance. 

"  Mamma,"  sobbed  Daisy,  hiding  her  little 
pitiful  face  on  her  mother's  bosom,  "  I  will 
take  'em  back  to  Frankie.     I  didn't  know  you 


White  Mice.  107 

would  degust  'em  so,  and  I'm  sorry  I  bringed 
'em  home  for  you  to  see.  And,  mamma,  I 
wouldn't  be  a  cry-baby,  'deed  I  wouldn't,  if  I 
could  help  it." 

"  You  can  cry  a  little  if  you  want  to,  and  no 
one  shall  call  you  a  cry-baby,  my  pet,"  said 
her  mother,  "  and  "  —  Mrs.  Ransom  hesitated ; 
then  after  a  little  struggle  with  herself,  went 
on  —  "  and  you  shall  keep  the  mice,  darling. 
Perhaps  we  can  find  a  place  for  them  where 
mamma  will  not  see  them." 

Daisy  raised  her  head,  showing  flushed 
cheeks  and  tearful  eyes,  and  a  still  quivering 
lip,  although  smiles  and  dimples  were  already 
mingling  themselves  with  these  signs  of  dis- 
tress, at  this  crumb  of  comfort. 

Never  was  such  an  April  face  and  temper  as 
Daisy  Ransom's. 

"I'll  tell  you,  mamma,"  said  Johnny,  com- 
ing to  the  rescue,  "  Bob  and  I  can  make  a 
cubby  hole  for  them  down  in  the  garden-house, 
and  they  can  live  there,  where  they  need  never 
bother  you.    Daisy  can  go  and  play  with  them 


108  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

there  when  she  wants  them.  Will  that  do, 
Daisy  ? " 

Do  ?  One  would  have  thought  so  to  see 
Daisy's  delight.  She  was  beaming  and  dim- 
pling all  over  now. 

"  Oh !  you  dear,  darling,  loving  Johnny," 
she  exclaimed,  clapping  her  hands ;  then 
turning  to  her  mother,  and  softly  touching  her 
cheek,  she  asked  in  the  most  insinuating 
little  way,  — 

"  Mamma,  dear,  would  they  trouble  you 
down  in  the  garden-house?  If  they  would, 
I'll  do  wifout  'em." 

Who  could  resist  her  sweet  coaxing  way. 

Not  her  mother,  certainly,  who,  once  more 
kissing  the  little  eager,  upturned  face,  assured 
her  that  she  might  keep  the  white  mice,  and 
have  them  down  in  the  garden-house. 

"There's  an  old  bird-cage  upstairs  in  the 
attic,"  said  Nellie,  "  why  wouldn't  that  do  for 
a  house  for  them  ?  " 

"  Just  the  thing.  I'll  bring  it,"  said  Johnny, 
and  away  he  went  upstairs,  three  steps  at  once, 


White  Mice.  109 

and  returning  in  less  time  than  would  have 
seemed  possible,  with  the  old,  disused  bird- 
cage. 

"  It  is  rather  the  worse  for  wear,"  he  said, 
turning  it  around,  and  viewing  it  disparag- 
ingly, "  but  we'll  make  it  do.  I'll  cobble 
it  up ;  and  it  will  hold  the  mice  anyhow, 
Daisy." 

To  Daisy  it  seemed  a  palace  for  her  mice. 
Every  thing  was  couleur  de  rose  to  her  now 
that  she  was  to  be  allowed  to  keep  her  new 
pets,  and  that,  as  she  believed,  without  any 
annoyance  to  mamma. 

Johnny  and  Bob  were  very  kind  too.  They 
went  to  work  at  once  ;  the  former  straighten- 
ing the  bent  bars  of  the  cage,  the  latter  find 
ing  a  cup  and  a  small  tin  box  for  the  food  and 
drink  of  the  white  mice. 

Daisy  was  enchanted,  and  stood  by  with 
radiant  face  till  she  saw  her  pets  lodged  safely 
within  their  new  house,  when  she  was  even 
satisfied  to  have  the  boys  carry  them  to  the 
garden-house,   and    to    stay  behind    herself,* 


no  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

mamma  telling  her  that  it  was  too  late  for  her 
to  go  out  again. 

Never  was  happier  child  than  Daisy  when 
she  laid  her  little  head  on  her  pillow  that  night. 

"  What  a  nice  day  this  has  been !  "  said 
Carrie,  as  the  four  elder  children  sat  with 
their  mother  upon  the  piazza,  after  Daisy  had 
gone  to  rest. 

"  What's  made  it  so  wonderfully  nice  ? " 
asked  Johnny. 

"  Well,  I  don't  know,"  said  Carrie.  "  I've 
had  a  very  pleasant  time  somehow,  and  I 
believe  it's  'cause  Nellie  has  been  with  me 
'most  all  day,  and  been  so  nice.  Why,  Nellie, 
you  haven't  studied  one  bit  to-day." 

"  Why,  no,"  exclaimed  Nellie.  "  I  declare 
I  forgot  all  about  my  practising  and  sewing, 
and  every  thing.  I  never  thought  of  my  books, 
I've  been  so  busy.  Why  didn't  you  remind 
me  of  the  practising  and  sewing,  mamma  ?  " 

Her  mother  smiled. 

"  I  thought  it  just  as  well  to  let  you  take 
the  whole  day  for  other  things,  Nellie,"  she 


White  Mice.  in 

said :  u  a  whole  holiday  from  books  and  work 
will  not  hurt  you.  You  have  managed  to  live 
and  be  happy  through  it,  have  you  not  ?  " 

"  Why,  yes,"  answered  Nellie,  astonished  at 
herself,  as  she  recollected  how  completely 
lessons,  sewing,  and  practising  had  slipped 
from  her  mind ;  "  and  it  has  been  a  very  nice 
day,  as  Carrie  says.  A  great  deal  pleasanter 
than  yesterday,"  she  added,  as  she  contrasted 
her  feelings  of  last  night  with  those  of  to 
night. 

There  could  be  no  doubt  of  it.  She  felt 
more  like  herself,  better  and  happier  to-night, 
than  she  had  done,  not  only  yesterday,  but  for 
many  days  previous  ;  and  here  was  fresh  proof, 
if  her  sensible  little  mind  had  needed  it,  that 
her  father  and  mother  were  right,  and  that 
"  all  work  and  no  play  "  were  fast  taking  ill 
effect  on  both  mind  and  body. 

Now  it  will  not  do  for  little  girls  who  are 
inclined  to  be  idle  and  negligent  in  their 
studies  to  find  encouragement  for  their  lazi- 
ness in  Nellie's  example,  or  to  think  that  what 


H2  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

was  good  for  her  must  be  good  for  them. 
Nellie  was  a  child  who,  as  you  have  seen, 
erred  on  the  other  side,  not  only  from  real 
love  for  her  books,  but  also  from  the  desire  to 
learn  as  much  and  as  fast  as  her  quicker 
and  more  clever  schoolmates;  but  this  is  a 
fault  with  which  but  few  children  can  be 
reproached,  and  I  should  be  sorry  to  have 
my  story  furnish  any  one  with  an  excuse  for 
idleness  or  neglect  of  duty. 


-^37/X&&2 


VI. 

THE    GRAY  MICE. 

jURING  the  next  few  days  Daisy,  and 
not  Daisy  only,  but  also  the  other 
children,  found  great  pleasure  and 
satisfaction  in  the  white  mice.  They  were  all 
very  careful  not  to  take  them  near  the  house 
where  they  might  trouble  their  mother,  and 
Daisy  was  so  particular  about  this,  and  so 
grateful  to  mamma  for  allowing  her  to  keep 
them,  that  whenever  she  saw  her  go  out  in  the 
garden,  or  even  on  the  piazza  which  faced  that 
way,  she  would  rush  to  the  garden-house,  put 
the  cage  containing  her  mice  in  a  corner  be- 
hind a  bench,  throw  over  that  a  piece  of  old 
s 


114  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

cocoa  matting  with  half  a  dozen  garden-tools 
piled  on  top,  and  then  come  out  in  a  state  of 
great  excitement,  shutting  the  door  behind 
her,  and  holding  it  fast  with  both  hands  till 
mamma  was  out  of  sight.  One  might  have 
thought,  to  see  her,  that  some  fierce  dog 
or  wild  animal  was  behind  that  door,  able  to 
unlatch  it  for  itself,  and  eager  to  make  a  fierce 
attack  on  her  mother.  As  for  taking  them 
near  the  house,  or  letting  them  annoy  mam- 
ma in  any  way,  that  Daisy  would  not  have 
thought  of ;  and  she  was  so  good  that  when  a 
rainy  day  came,  and  she  could  not  go  out  to  the 
garden-house,  she  never  whimpered  or  fretted 
at  all,  but  cheerfully  submitted  to  have  her 
pets  cared  for  by  the  boys. 

After  that  first  day  of  her  new  experiment, 
Nellie  did  not  altogether  discard  her  lessons. 
Her  half-hour  of  sewing,  another  of  reading 
history,  and  an  hour's  practising,  mamma 
thought  might  as  well  be  kept  up ;  but  she 
no  longer  devoted  herself  to  her  books  and 
writing  as  she  had  done:  indeed,  this  would 


The  Gray  Mice,  115 

have  been  quite  impossible  if  she  properly  ful- 
filled her  new  and  pleasant  duties  as  mamma's 
little  housekeeper.  There  seemed  so  much  to 
be  done  ;  and  Nellie  was  quite  amazed  to  find 
what  a  help  she  could  be,  and  how  interested 
she  felt  in  having  things  in  nice  order. 

One  morning,  Mrs.  Ransom  said  she  would 
have  the  store-room  cleaned,  and  put  in  thor- 
ough order.  But  first  various  drawers,  bins, 
boxes,  and  other  receptacles  must  be  looked 
over  ;  and  this  Nellie  could  do,  with  Catherine 
to  assist  her,  and  move  such  articles  as  were 
too  heavy  or  cumbersome  for  her.  Mrs.  Ran- 
som went  herself  to  the  store-room,  and  gave 
both  Nellie  and  the  cook  some  general  orders, 
but  she  was  feeling  more  than  usually  languid 
that  day,  and  soon  tired  of  the  bustle ;  so  she 
returned  to  the  library,  telling  Nellie  to  send 
to  her  if  she  was  in  any  difficulty,  or  at  any 
loss  to  know  what  to  do.  Nellie  determined 
that  mamma  should  be  troubled  as  little  as 
possible,  and,  with  a  pleasant  sense  of  respon- 
sibility and  happiness,  set  about  her  task. 


Ii6  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

Catherine  humored  her  as  much  as  possible ; 
for  Nellie,  with  her  pleasant,  gentle  ways,  was 
a  favorite  with  all  her  inferiors,  and  every 
servant  in  the  house  was  ready  to  oblige  her, 
or  do  her  bidding. 

Carrie  and  Daisy  were  very  busy  too,  of 
course,  and  trotted  many  times  between  kitch- 
en, pantry,  and  store-room,  carrying  articles 
that  were  to  be  thrown  away  or  put  in  other 
places. 

"  There  now,  Miss  Nellie,  I  think  you  can 
get  along  without  me  for  a  bit,"  said  Catherine, 
at  last.  "  I  have  my  bread  to  see  to,  and  you 
could  be  overhauling  all  these  boxes  and  pots 
the  while,  and  setting  by  what  you're  sure 
Mrs.  Ransom  will  want  emptied.  If  ever  I 
see  sech  an  untidy  set  as  must  have  had  this 
house  afore  us,  and  a  shame  to  them  it  is  to 
be  laving  things  this  way,  and  they  calling 
themselves  ladies  and  gentlemen." 

And,  with  her  arms  full  of  "  rubbish,"  away 
walked  the  good-natured  Irishwoman,  whose 
tidy  soul  was,  as  she  had  said,  sorely  vexed 


The  Gray  Mice.  117 

by  the  slovenly  way  in  which  the  house  had 
been  left  by  those  who  had  lived  in  it  before  Mrs. 
Eansom's  family. 

"  Here,  Daisy,"  said  Nellie,  who  thought  it 
necessary  to  find  incessant  occupation  for  the 
busy  little  fingers  of  her  smallest  "  helper " 
lest  they  should  find  it  for  themselves, — "  here, 
Daisy  dear,  you  may  sort  those  corks.  Pick 
out  all  the  large  ones  and  put  them  in  this  jar, 
and  put  the  small  ones  in  this.  That  will  be  a 
great  help." 

"  I'd  rafer  help  fissing  sugar,"  said  Daisy, 
raising  herself  on  tiptoe  with  one  hand  on  the 
edge  of  the  sugar-barrel,  and  peeping  longingly 
within  its  depths. 

"  Yes,  I  dare  say  you  would,"  laughed 
Nellie,  "  but  then  the  sugar  is  to  stay  where  it 
is.  But  I'll  tell  you,  Daisy.  Run  and  ask 
mamma  if  I  may  give  you  the  largest  lump  of 
sugar  I  can  find  when  the  corks  are  done." 

Away  scampered  Daisy,  and  did  not  return 
for  some  minutes,  her  attention  being  attracted 
on  the   way  with    something  else  than  her 


n8  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

errand,  for  one  thing  at  a  time  was  not  Daisy's 
motto. 

Having  at  once  eased  her  own  mind  on  the 
subject  of  the  sugar  by  receiving  mamma's 
permission  to  have  "  the  largest  lump  that 
Nellie  could  find,"  she  thought  that  both  sugar 
and  corks  would  keep  till  it  suited  her  con- 
venience to  return  to  the  store-room,  and,  see- 
ing a  large  parcel  lying  upon  the  hall-table, 
she  was  seized  with  a  thirst  for  information 
respecting  its  contents.  She  walked  round 
and  round  it,  inspecting  it  on  every  side ;  then 
ran  back  to  her  mother. 

"  Mamma,"  she  said,  "  there's  oh !  such  a 
big  bundle  on  the  hall-table." 

"  Yes,  I  know  it,"  said  mamma. 

"And  with  writing  on  it,"  said  Daisy.  "  1 
fink  the  writing  says,  Miss  Daisy  Ransom, 
with  somebody's  respects." 

"No,"  said  her  mother,  smiling :  "  it  says 
John  Ransom,  Esq." 

"  Is  that  our  Johnny  ?  "  asked  Daisy. 

"No,  it  means  papa,"  answered  her  mother. 


The  Gray  Mice.  119 

"  Are  you  going  to  open  it,  mamma.  Papa 
is  away." 

"  No,  we'll  leave  it  till  papa  returns.  He 
will  be  here  to-morrow  evening." 

"  I  don't  fink  it's  a  good  plan  to  wait.  It 
makes  people  tired,"  said  Daisy,  plaintively. 

"  But  it  is  right  to  wait  when  papa  did  not 
tell  us  to  open  it,"  said  Mrs.  Ransom.  "  Lit- 
tle girls  must  not  be  too  curious." 

"■Is  it  kurous  to  make  a  little  hole  in  the 
paper  and  peek  in  ?  "  asked  Daisy,  after  a  mo- 
ment or  two  of  deep  reflection. 

"  Yes,  curious  and  very  naughty,"  said  Mrs. 
Ransom.  "  That  would  be  meddlesome.  Ask 
Nellie  to  tell  you  a  story  she  knows  about  a 
meddlesome  girl." 

Daisy  obeyed,  but  with  less  alacrity  than 
usual,  lingering  for  three  or  four  moments 
longer  about  the  parcel;  although,  with  the 
fear  of  being  thought  "  curious  and  meddle- 
some," she  did  not  venture  to  touch  it.  At 
last  with  a  long  sigh  she  departed. 

Meanwhile  Nellie  and  Carrie  were  opening 


120  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

the  various  boxes,  jars,  &c,  and  inquiring  into 
their  contents. 

"  I  wonder  what's  in  this,"  said  Nellie,  who 
was  standing  on  a  chair,  and  reaching  down 
things  from  a  shelf.  "  I  thought  I  heard  some- 
thing rustle  in  it.  There  it  is  again.  Why ! 
I  wonder  if  there's  any  thing  alive  in  it,"  and 
she  looked  with  some  trepidation  at  a  wooden 
box  which  stood  on  the  shelf  before  her.  The 
lid  was  not  shut  down  quite  tight,  and  again 
as  she  looked  at  it  came  that  rustle  from 
within. 

Nellie  took  up  the  box  rather  gingerly; 
raised  the  lid  a  little,  just  enough  to  peep 
within ;  then,  with  an  exclamation,  quickly 
closed  it  again. 

"  Why !  what  is  it  ?  "  asked  Carrie,  gazing 
up  at  her. 

"  There  are  mice  in  it,  and  one  almost 
jumped  out,"  answered  Nellie,  crimson  with 
the  little  start  and  excitement,  although  she 
was  not  in  the  least  afraid  of  mice.  "I'm 
not  quite  sure,  I  had  such  a  little  peep  ;  but  I 


The  Gray  Mice,  121 

think  there's  a  big  one,  and  some  little  tiny 
ones." 

"  How  do  you  suppose  they  got  in  ? "  asked 
Carrie. 

"  I  expect  the  cover  has  been  left  partly 
open,  and  then  they  have  gnawed  a  place  large 
enough  to  pass  in,"  said  Nellie,  turning  the 
box  around  in  her  hand.  "  See  here,"  and  she 
showed  Carrie  where  the  lid  was  gnawed  away. 

"What  shall  we  do  with  them?"  asked 
Carrie. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Nellie,  "  they'll  have 
to  be  killed,  I  s'pose.  They  must  be  put  out 
of  the  way  before  mamma  knows  any  thing 
about  them,  and  I  think  it  is  best  not  to  tell 
her,  Carrie.  It  would  only  trouble  her  to 
know  there  had  been  any  about  the  house." 

"  Oh !  it's  too  bad,"  said  Carrie.  "  Must 
they  be  killed?" 

"  Yes,  I'm  afraid  so,"  said  Nellie.  "lam 
sorry  too:  they  are  such  cunning  little 
things." 

"  Why  couldn't  we  keep  them,  and  take 


122  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

them  down  to  the  garden-house  where  Daisy's 
white  mice  are  ?  "    asked  Carrie. 

"  Oh,  no  !  "  answered  Nellie  :  "it  would 
never  do,  Carrie.  I  do  not  believe  they  would 
stay  there,  and  they  might  come  back  to  the 
house,  and  perhaps  frighten  mamma.  They 
must  be  killed.  Just  take  the  box  to  Cathe- 
rine before  Daisy  comes  back :  she  might  let 
it  out  to  mamma  without  meaning  to." 

"  What  will  Catherine  do  with  them  ?  "  said 
Carrie,  taking  the  box  from  her  sister's  hand, 
and  lingering  with  it. 

"  I  don't  know.  Drown  them,  I  suppose. 
I  don't  like  to  think  about  it,  but  it  can't 
be  helped.  Besides,  mice  have  to  be  killed, 
you  know,  they  are  so  mischievous.  Tell 
Catherine  not  to  speak  about  them  before 
mamma." 

Carrie  passed  slowly  out  of  the  store-room, 
feeling  very  unwilling  to  have  the  mice  killed ; 
not  only  from  pity  for  the  poor  little  creatures, 
but  also  because  she  had  a  strong  desire  to 
keep  them  as  pets. 


The  Gray  Mice,  123 

Daisy  had  her  white  mice,  and  was  allowed 
to  keep  them :  why  should  she  not  have  these 
little  animals,  so  long  as  they  were  kept  out 
of  mamma's  way  ?  Belle  Powers  had  her 
tame  mouse :  why  could  not  she  tame  these 
as  well  ?  And  rebellious  thoughts  and  wishes 
began  to  rise  in  Carrie's  breast  as  she  lingered 
half  way  between  the  store-room  and  the  kitch- 
en, unable,  or  rather  unwilling,  to  make  up 
her  mind  to  do  as  Nellie  had  told  her,  and 
carry  the  box  to  Catherine. 

"  I  don't  see  why  mamma  need  be  so  afraid 
of  a  harmless,  cunning  little  mouse,"  she  said 
to  herself.  "  I  know  grandmamma  said  she 
was  frightened  into  convulsions  once,  when  she 
was  a  little  girl,  by  a  bad  servant-girl  putting 
one  down  her  back ;  but  I  should  think  she'd 
had  plenty  of  time  to  grow  out  of  being  afraid 
of  them,  now  she's  grown  up ;  and  if  she  don't 
know  it,  I  don't  see  why  I  can't  keep  them  in 
the  garden-house,  or  —  or  —  somewhere  else. 
'Cause  I  s'pose  if  I  did  take  them  to  the 
garden-house,  there  would  be  a  fuss  about  it ; 


124  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

and  the  other  children  would  say  I  ougw.  .  jt 
to  keep  them,  and  maybe  tell  mamma.  Ic's  a 
shame  to  kill  the  dear,  pretty  little  things. 
Belle  Powers'  papa  just  lets  her  have  every 
thing  she  wants.  I  wish  my  papa  and  mamma 
did.  And  Daisy  has  her  own  way  too,  'most 
always ;  and  it's  not  fair.  I'm  older  than  she 
is.  If  she  can  have  white  mice,  I  don't  see 
why  I  can't  have  gray  ones.  One  isn't  any 
more  harm  than  the  other.  Besides,  I  don't 
have  to  mind  Nellie.  She  needn't  be  telling 
me  I  must  take  the  mice  to  Catherine.  She 
thinks  herself  so  great  ever  since  she's  been 
mamma's  housekeeper ;  but  I'm  not  going  to 
mind  her  when  I  don't  choose  to.  I  shan't 
let  them  be  drowned  now ;  and  —  and  —  I've 
just  a  good  mind." 

Turning  hastily  about,  Carrie  ran  down  a 
short  side  entry  which  led  to  a  dark  closet 
where  Catherine  kept  wood  for  daily  use ; 
thrust  the  box  in  a  far  corner ;  and  then,  with 
fast  beating  heart,  returned  to  the  store-room. 

"  How  long  you  stayed  !  "  said  Nellie.    "  I 


The  Gray  Mice,  125 

Degan  to  be  afraid  you  were  waiting  to  see 
Catherine  drown  the  mice,  and  yet  I  didn't 
think  you  could  bear  to." 

"  No,  I  didn't,"  said  Carrie,  in  a  low  tone, 
glad  that  Nellie  had  not  said  any  thing  that 
would  have  forced  her  either  to  confess,  or  to 
Cell  a  deliberate  falsehood.  She  persuaded 
her»elf  that  she  was  not  acting  untruthfully 
now,  but  she  could  not  make  her  voice  as 
steady  as  usual. 

Nellie  did  not  notice  it.  She  was  just  then 
absorbed  in  trying  to  extract  a  small  jar  from 
one  but  litcle  larger,  into  which  it  had  been 
thrust.  Succeeding  in  her  endeavors,  she  took 
up  again  tht  low  song  which  her  words  to 
Carrie  had  interrupted. 

"  I  wish  Neltae  would  stop  that  everlasting 
singing,"  said  Carrie  to  herself,  feeling  irrita- 
ble and  out  of  humor  with  every  one  and  every 
thing.  "  I've  a  g^od  mind  not  to  help  her  any 
more." 

She  had  been  pleasant,  happy,  and  interested 
in  her  work,  but  a  few  moments  since.     Can 


126  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

you  tell  what  had  made  such  a  change  in  so 
short  a  time  ? 

"  Daisy  has  forgotten  about  her  corks  and 
sugar,  I  think,"  said  Nellie  presently,  inter- 
rupting herself  again  in  her  song.  "  Oh,  no ! 
here  she  comes ; "  then,  as  Daisy's  little  feet 
pattered  into  the  store-room,  "  Did  you  forget 
the  corks,  pet  ?  " 

"No,  and  mamma  says  I  can  have  the 
biggest  lump  of  sugar,  Nellie ;  and  there's 
a  very  big  bundle  on  the  hall-table,  but  it's 
papa's." 

"Is  it?"  said  Nellie. 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  little  one,  settling  her- 
self to  the  task  of  sorting  the  corks,  "  but  I 
wasn't  kurous  or  messeltome." 

"Wasn't  what  ?  "  asked  Nellie. 

"  Messeltome.  Mamma  said  to  touch  what 
wasn't  ours,  or  to  peek,  was  messeltome  ;  but  I 
didn't  do  it.  Tell  me  about  that  messeltome 
girl,  Nellie.     Mamma  said  you  would." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Nellie,  understanding 
Daisy's  definition. 


The  Gray  Mice.  127 

"  Tell  it  a  long,  long  story,  —  tell  me  till  your 
tongue  is  tired,  will  you?"  pleaded  Daisy,  for 
whom  no  story  could  ever  be  too  long. 

"  I'll  see,"  said  Nellie ;  and  she  began  her 
tale,  but  had  made  but  little  headway  in  it 
when  a  servant  came  and  told  Daisy  that 
Master  Frankie  Bradford  was  waiting  to  see 
her. 

"  What  shall  I  do  ? "  said  Daisy,  in  a  state 
of  painful  indecision  between  the  conflicting 
claims  of  business  and  society.  "  The  torks 
are  not  done,  and  I  didn't  have  my  sugar." 

"  You  can  take  the  corks  with  you,  and  the 
sugar  too :  perhaps  Frankie  would  like  to 
help  you,"  said  Nellie,  dismounting  from  her 
perch,  and  fishing  out  the  largest  lump  from 
the  sugar-barrel.  "  There,  I  suppose  you  will 
want  a  lump  for  Frankie  too." 

"  No,"  said  Daisy,  "  mamma  said  only  one 
lump.     If  Frankie  does  half  the  torks  he  shall 
have  half  my  sugar  ;  "  and  away  she  ran,  car- 
rying corks  and  sugar  with  her. 
"  What  a  dear,  honest  little  thing  Daisy  is ! ,; 


128  JVelkVs  Housekeeping. 

said  Nellie,  when  she  was  gone.  "  I  don't  be- 
lieve she  could  be  tempted  to  do  the  least 
thing  she  thought  mamma  would  not  like,  or 
take  any  thing  she  thought  was  not  quite  fair. 
And  she's  so  sweet  and  thoughtful  about  mam- 
ma. Just  see  how  much  pains  she's  taken  not 
to  cry  for  little  things  since  I  told  her  it 
troubled  her." 

Carrie  turned  away  her  face,  feeling  more 
uncomfortable  than  ever,  bitterly  reproached  by 
Nellie's  unconscious  words,  no  less  than  by 
the  uprightness  and  loving  dutifulness  of  her 
almost  baby  sister. 

Daisy  found  Frankie  in  the  library  with  her 
mother.  Mrs.  Bradford  had  sent  her  nursery 
maid  to  ask  if  Mrs.  Ransom  would  drive  with 
her  in  the  afternoon,  and  Frankie  had  decid- 
ed to  accompany  her. 

"Mamma  said  I  could  stay  and  play  with 
Daisy,  if  you  asked  me,*'  was  the  young  gentle- 
man's first  remark,  after  he  had  greeted  Mrs. 
Ransom. 

"  Oh !  "  said  Jane,  the  maid,  much  mortified, 


The  Gray  Mice.  129 

"  Master  Frankie,  I'm  ashamed  of  you.  Mrs. 
Bradford  never  expected  he'd  do  that, 
ma'am." 

"  No,  I  suppose  not,"  said  Mrs.  Ransom, 
smiling ;  "  but  Daisy  will  be  very  glad  to  have 
you  stay,  and  so  shall  I." 

Daisy  was  called,  as  you  have  heard,  and 
made  her  appearance  in  great  glee,  delighted 
to  see  Frankie,  and  at  once  inviting  him  to 
share  her  labors,  and  their  reward. 

The  sugar  had  its  attractions,  but  Frankie 
privately  regarded  the  cork  business  with  dis- 
dain. Having  come,  however,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  making  himself  especially  agreeable  to 
Daisy,  he  did  not  refuse  to  enter  into  partner- 
ship ;  and  they  were  soon  seated  on  the  upper 
step  of  the  piazza,  and  busily  at  work. 

"  Frankie,"  said  Daisy  presently,  luxuriating 
in  thus  having  him  all  to  herself,  and  in  this 
condescending  mood, *"  would  you  rafer  go  to 
heaven,  or  stay  here  and  sort  torks  ? " 

"  Well,  I  don't  know  as  I  care  much  about 
either,"  answered  Frankie.  "  I'd  rather  dig 
9 


130  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

clams.  But,  then,  I'd  want  you  to  dig  them 
with  me,  Daisy,"  he  added,  sentimentally. 

The  proposal  was  alluring  certainly,  but  il 
had  its  objections  in  Daisy's  eyes ;  and  she 
said,  in  a  corresponding  tone,  — 

"  I  b'lieve  I  couldn't.  They  might  think  1 
was  a  boy  if  I  digged  clams.  But,  Frankie, 
if  I  went  to  heaTen  wifout  you,  would  you 
cry?" 

"  No,"  answered  Frankie,  indignantly,  "  men 
don't  cry  about  things  like  that.  Maybe  I 
wouldn't  laugh  much  that  day,  but  I  would  not 
cry." 

Daisy  was  silent  for  a  moment,  then  sud- 
denly put  one  of  those  startling  questions  for 
which  she  was  famous. 

"  Frankie,  if  I  went  in  to  bafe,  and  Jonah's 
whale  came  and  swallowed  me  up,  how  could 
God  get  my  soul  out  of  him  ?  " 

Frankie  considered  for  a  little ;  then  not 
seeing  his  way  clear  to  a  satisfactory  answer, 
and  unwilling  to  confess  ignorance  on  any 
point,  he  said  gravely  and  reprovingly,  — 


The  Gray  Mice.  131 

"  That's  not  a  proper  question  for  you  to 
ask,  Daisy." 

Daisy  looked  abashed,  and  said,  — 

"  I  didn't  mean  to  ask  improper  kestions." 

"  No,  I  don't  s'pose  you  did,  so  I  thought 
I'd  better  tell  you,"  said  Frankie.  "  We'll  talk 
about  something  else." 

"  They're  all  done,"  said  Daisy,  meaning  the 
corks,  "  now  we'll  eat  the  sugar." 

But  the  dividing  of  the  sugar  proved  a 
difficult  matter;  for  the  lump  was  large  and 
thick,  and  resisted  the  efforts  of  both  pairs  of 
little  hands. 

"  I'll  crack  it  with  this  stone,"  said  Frankie ; 
and,  suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  he  laid 
it  upon  the  step  and  gave  it  a  blow  with  the 
stone. 

One  part  of  the  much  prized  morsel  remained 
in  very  good  condition,  but  the  rest  suffered 
severely  under  this  violent  treatment,  and  was 
reduced  very  nearly  to  powder. 

"  Just  see  what  this  horrid  old  stone  did !  " 
said  Frankie,  looking  at  his  work  in  much 
disgust. 


132  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

"Never  mind,"  said  Daisy,  "you  can  have 
the  whole  piece,  and  I'll  eat  the  mashed." 

The  swain  made  a  feeble  resistance  to  this 
generous  offer,  feeling  in  duty  bound  to  do  so ; 
but  Daisy  insisted,  and  he  was  so  moved  by 
the  magnitude  of  her  self-sacrifice  that  he 
«aid,  — 

"Daisy,  I  shall  make  those  other  girls  wait 
till  you're  dead,  and  marry  you  first,  'cause 
you're  the  best  of  all  the  lot." 

Here  Carrie  joined  them,  for  she  had  soon 
quitted  Nellie,  telling  her  that  she  was  tired ; 
but  the  true  reason  was  that  she  feared  her 
sister  might  say  something  that  would  force 
her  to  confess  that  she  had  not  obeyed  orders 
about  the  mice. 

But,  wherever  she  went,  it  seemed  somehow 
as  if  things  would  be  said  to  make  her  feel 
self-reproached  and  uncomfortable. 

"  Oh !  but  you're  a  help,  Miss  Carrie,  and 
your  mother'll  be  proud  to  see  the  forethought 
of  you  and  Miss  Nellie,"  said  Catherine, 
when  Carrie  brought  out  her  last  load  to  the 
kitchen. 


The  Gray  Mice.  133 

"  What  dear,  helpful  little  girls  I  have ! " 
said  mamma,  with  a  loving  smile,  as  Carrie 
paused  for  a  moment  at  the  open  door  of  the 
library,  not  feeling  as  if  she  could  pass  it 
without  seeming  to  notice  her  mother,  and  yet 
ashamed  and  afraid  to  go  in.  "It  almost 
helps  me  to  feel  stronger  to  see  you  all  so  con 
siderate  and  anxious  to  do  all  you  can  for 
me." 

Carrie  smiled  faintly  in  reply ;  then  passed 
out  upon  the  piazza.  She  would  be  safe  with 
Daisy  and  Frankie,  she  thought,  from  speeches 
that  would  make  her  feel  guilty  and  uncom- 
fortable. 

But  no. 

"  What  shall  we  do  now  ? "  asked  Daisy, 
when  the  last  crumb  of  sugar  had  been  dis- 
posed  of. 

"  Where  are  the  white  mice  ?  Let's  play 
with  them  a  little  while,"  said  Frankie. 

"  Down  in  the  garden-house,"  answered 
Daisy. 

"  What  a  funny  place  to  keep  them ! "  said 


134  Nellids  Housekeeping. 

Frankie.  "  Let's  go  and  bring  them  up 
here." 

"  Oh,  no !  we  mustn't,"  said  Daisy :  "  we 
can  go  and  play  wif  'em ;  but  they  can't  come 
here,  'cause  mamma  don't  like  'em." 

"  We  won't  take  them  in  the  house,  Daisy, 
only  out  here  on  the  piazza." 

"  No,  no,"  said  Daisy,  decidedly,  "  not  out 
of  the  garden-house.  Mamma  might  see  'em, 
and  they  would  make  her  feci,  oh  !  dreffully ! 
I  should  fink  we  wouldnH  do  any  fing  mamma 
don't  like,  would  we,  Carrie  ? "  she  added, 
lifting  her  great,  innocent  eyes  to  her  sister's 
face. 

Carrie  turned  quickly  away  without  an  an- 
swer, and  was  glad  when  the  next  moment 
the  two  little  things  ran  hand  in  hand  down 
the  path  which  led  to  the  garden-house. 

Carrie  was  not  happy, — no,  indeed,  how 
could  she  be  ?  A  great  many  uncomfortable 
feelings  were  in  her  young  breast  just  then. 
Jealousy  of  her  little  sister,  whom  she  chose 
to  consider  more  petted  and  indulged  than 


The  Gray  Mice.  135 

herself;  eirvy  even  of  her  motherless  little 
playmate,  Belle  Powers ;  irritation  which  she 
dared  not  show  against  Nellie,  for  bidding  her 
take  the  mice  to  Catherine ;  fear  that  her  secret 
would  be  discovered,  and  the  doubt  what  she 
was  to  do  with  the  mice  now  that  she  had 
them :  all  were  making  her  very  restless  and 
miserable. 

What  though  she  did  persuade  herself  that 
Nellie  had  no  right  to  give  her  orders ;  what 
though  mamma  had  never  forbidden  her  to 
have  the  mice ;  what  though  she  did  believe 
she  could  keep  them  safely  hidden  in  some 
place  where  they  need  never  trouble  her 
mother,  —  was  she  any  the  less  guilty  and 
disobedient  ?  And  where  should  that  place  be 
that  she  was  to  hide  them,  not  only  from 
mamma,  but  from  every  one  else  ? 


VII. 


THE  BLACK  CAT. 


ELLIE,  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Ransom's 
gentle    voice    at    the    store-room 
**     door. 

"  Yes,  mamma,"  answered  Nellie,  from  the 
top  of  a  row  of  drawers  where  she  had  climbed 
to  reach  some  jars  from  a  shelf  above  her 
head. 

"  I  think  you  have  worked  long  enough,  my 
daughter  ;  and  I  do  not  wish  you  to  take  clown 
those  jars.  Hannah  is  at  leisure  now,  and  she 
may  come  and  attend  to  the  rest  of  the  things." 
"  Oh !  but  mamma,"  pleaded  Nellie,  "  if  you 
would  just  let  me  do  it  all  myself.     It  would 


The  Black  Cat.  137 

be  so  nice  to  tell  papa  that  I  cleared  out 
the  store-room  entirely,  except  the  very  heavy 
things ;  and  Hannah  might  be  doing  some- 
thing else  that  would  be  a  help  to  you." 

"  It  would  be  no  help  to  me  to  have  you 
make  yourself  ill,  dear ;  and  papa  would  not 
think  it  at  all  nice  to  come  home  and  find  you 
tired  and  overworked.  And  it  is  dangerous 
for  you  to  be  reaching  up  so  high.  I  had 
rather  you  would  leave  the  rest  to  the  ser- 
vants." 

Nellie  was  very  sorry  to  stop ;  and  for  a 
moment  she  felt  a  little  vexed.  But  it  was 
only  a  fleeting  cloud  that  passed  over  her  face, 
and  almost  before  her  mother  could  mark  it, 
it  was  gone.  If  she  wanted  to  be  a  real  help 
to  mamma,  she  must  do  as  mamma  wished, 
even  though  it  did  not  seem  just  the  best 
thing  to  herself.  It  would  have  been  delight- 
ful, she  would  have  been  proud  to  tell  papa 
she  had  done  as  much  in  the  store-room  as 
mamma  herself  could  have  done  if  she  had 
been  well  and  strong;  but.it  would  not  prove 


138  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

a  real  service  if  she  troubled  her  mother,  or 
made  her  feel  anxious.  Nellie  did  not  herself 
think  that  she  ran  any  danger  of  injury ;  but 
since  mamma  did,  there  was  but  one  thing 
that  was  right  to  do. 

"  Yery  well,  mamma,"  she  said  cheerfully, 
"  I'll  come  down,"  and  taking  the  hand  her 
mother  offered  for  her  assistance,  she  de- 
scended from  her  perch. 

Still  it  was  with  a  little  sigh  that  she  left 
her  task,  as  she  thought,  incomplete,  and  Mrs. 
Ransom  could  not  help  seeing  that  it  was  a 
disappointment  to  her. 

"  You  look  warm  and  tired  now,  dearie," 
she  said,  pushing  back  the  hair  caressingly 
from  her  little  daughter's  flushed  face,  "  go 
upstairs  and  be  washed  and  dressed.  Then  if 
there  is  nothing  else  you  prefer  to  do  I  should 
very  much  enjoy  hearing  you  read  from  one 
of  your  new  books.  I  feel  tired,  and  should 
like  to  lie  on  the  sofa  and  listen  to  you." 

Nellie  brightened  immediately,  inwardly  as 
well  as   outwardly.    She   could  be  useful  to 


The  Black  Cat.  139 

mamma  still,  if  she  must  leave  the  store-room ; 
and  she  ran  away  to  remove  the  traces  of  her 
late  toil,  and  make  herself  neat  and  nice. 

She  was  in  her  own  room,  washing  her  face, 
when  she  heard  a  short,  quick  step  running 
along  the  hall.  She  thought  it  was  Carrie's, 
and  called  aloud,  meaning  to  tell  her  she  was 
going  to  read  to  her  mother,  and  to  ask  if  she 
would  like  to  hear  the  story. 

"  Carrie !  "  she  called  from  out  of  the  folds 
of  the  towel  where  she  had  just  buried  her 
face. 

No  answer ;  but  the  step  paused  for  a  mo- 
ment, then  ran  on. 

"  Carrie  !  "  this  time  louder  and  clearer,  for 
her  voice  was  no  longer  smothered  in  the 
towel. 

Still  no  answer ;  but  Nellie  heard  the  door 
at  the  foot  of  the  garret  steps  softly  closed. 

"Why!  how  queer,"  she  said  to  herself, 
"  what  can  Carrie  be  going  up  to  the  garret  all 
alone  for?  I  don't  believe  it  was  Carrie,  it 
must  have  been  Johnny  going  up  to  his  print- 
ing-press or  something. " 


140  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

For  Johnny  was  the  only  one  of  the  family 
who  much  frequented  the  garret,  he  having 
a  printing-press,  carpenter's  tools  and  other 
possessions  up  there. 

Nellie  did  what  she  could  for  herself;  then 
went  into  the  nursery  to  have  her  dress  fast- 
ened, and  sash  tied. 

"  Would  you  stop  a  minute  and  mind  baby 
while  I  call  Carrie  to  be  dressed  ?  "  said  the 
nurse  ;  "  I  might  as  well  do  it  now,  for  there's 
Daisy  to  be  dressed  afterwards,  and  I  suppose 
they'll  both  have  to  be  hunted  up." 

"  Daisy  is  playing  somewhere  with  Frankie 
Bradford,"  said  Nellie  ;  "  but  I  thought  I  heard 
Carrie  go  up  to  the  garret  a  few  moments  ago. 
But  I'm  not  sure." 

"  I  thought  I  heard  her  run  along  the  entry, 
too,"  said  the  nurse. 

She  went  to  the  foot  of  the  garret-stairs,  and 
opening  the  door,  called  Carrie  three  or  four 
times.  But  no  answer  came,  and  closing  the 
door  again,  she  went  away  downstairs  to  look 
for  her. 


The  Black  Cat.  141 

Baby  was  just  beginning  to  take  notice,  and 
as  it  lay  in  the  cradle,  followed  with  its  eyes 
the  bright-colored  worsted  ball  which  Nellie 
dangled  in  front  of  them,  cooing  softly  in  re- 
ply to  the  gentle,  playful  tones  of  its  sister's 
voice,  as  she  talked  "  baby "  to  it. 

But  this  did  not  prevent  Nellie  from  pres- 
ently hearing  again  the  closing  of  the  garret 
door,  closed  very  softly  as  by  a  hand  which  did 
not  wish  that  the  sound  should  be  heard.  Nellie 
was  a  little  startled,  and  it  was  in  a  tone  of 
some  trepidation  that  she  called  again. 

"  Johnny !  Carrie !  who  is  that  ?    Do  speak." 

A  step  along  the  hall,  and  Carrie  appeared 
at  the  open  door  of  the  nursery. 

"  Where  did  you  come  from  ?  was  that  you 
went  upstairs  ? "  questioned  Nellie,  looking 
with  surprise  at  Carrie's  crimson,  rather  trou- 
bled face. 

"  Yes,  I  went  upstairs,"  answered  Carrie. 

"  And  didn't  you  hear  Ruth  calling  you  ?  " 
asked  Nellie. 

"  I'm  not  going  to  be  screeched  all  over  the 


142  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

house  by  the  servants.  I  should  think  I  was 
big  enough  to  go  where  I  chose,"  muttered 
Carrie,  turning  away. 

"You  needn't  go  away.  Ruth  wants  to 
dress  you,"  said  Nellie.  "  She'll  just  bring 
you  back.  Just  see  how  cunning  the  baby  is," 
for  she  saw  Carrie  was  out  of  humor,  and 
would  have  tried  to  soothe  and  interest  her. 

"  I  want  Daisy  to  be  dressed  first,"  said 
Carrie,  who  was  evidently  anxious  to  be  away. 
"  I'm  going  to  see  if  she  can't." 

"  Daisy  is  with  Frankie,  and  mamma  won't 
make  her  come,"  said  Nellie.  "  I  wouldn't 
bother  mamma  about  it,  Carrie,  she's  lying 
down." 

"  Oh,  yes,  Daisy  always  has  to  have  every 
thing  she  wants,"  said  Carrie,  coming  reluc- 
tantly into  the  room,  but  keeping  away  on  the 
other  side,  "  and  I  shan't  have  you  telling  me 
all  the  time  what  to  do  and  what  not  to  do. 
I  haven't  got  to  mind  you." 

The  parti-colored  ball  remained  motionless  in 
Nellie's  fingers,  as  she  gazed  in  surprise  at  her 


The  Black  Cat.  143 

sister,  who  walking  to  the  window,  planted 
her  elbow  on  the  sill,  and  her  chin  in  her 
hand ;  the  very  picture  of  a  sulky,  ill-humored 
child. 

Nellie  could  not  think  what  she  meant  by 
her  ugly  speech.  She  had  spoken  very  gently 
to  Carrie,  and  without  any  undue  authority, 
either  of  tone  or  manner,  meaning  only  to 
suggest,  not  to  command.  But  perhaps  Carrie 
thought  she  had  taken  too  much  upon  herself 
in  the  store-room.  That  was  unreasonable, 
for  she  had  come  there  of  her  own  accord, 
begging  that  she  might  be  allowed  to  help,  and 
seeming  quite  ready  to  put  herself  under  Nel- 
lie's orders.  Yes,  that  must  be  it,  and  Nellie 
herself  felt  a  little  resentment  at  her  sister's 
behavior. 

But  it  was  not  Nellie's  way  to  speak  when 
she  was  angry ;  she  waited  till  she  could  do  so 
without  temper,  and  then  said  gently. 

"  But,  Carrie,  dear,  you  know  some  one  had 
to — "  give  orders  she  was  about  to  say,  but  wise 
little  woman  that  she  was,  changed  the  ob* 


144  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

noxious  word  —  "  had  to  say  what  was  to  be 
done,  and  mamma  put  me  in  charge  there 
'cause  I  am  her  housekeeper  now.  I  had  to 
tell  you  what  to  do  with  every  thing." 

Nellie  could  not  help  —  what  little  girl  could 
have  helped  ?  —  a  slight  consciousness  of  au- 
thority and  satisfaction  in  her  position  as 
mamma's  right  hand  woman ;  but  Carrie  did 
not  notice  that  so  much  as  her  words,  which 
brought  fresh  cause  for  uneasiness  to  her 
guilty  conscience.  What  "  things  "  did  Nellie 
mean  ?     The  mice  ? 

"  Is  Johnny  upstairs  ?  "  asked  Nellie,  receiv- 
ing no  answer  to  her  last  speech,  but  still 
wishing  to  make  peace. 

"  I  should  think  you'd  know  he  hadn't  come 
home  from  school,"  snapped  Carrie. 

"  I  forgot ;  I  really  don't  know  at  all  what 
time  it  is,"  said  Nellie.  "  What  were  you 
doing  upstairs  then  ?  " 

"  Let  me  be,"  was  the  answer  Carrie  gave 
to  this ;  and  Nellie  was  silent,  feeling,  indeed, 
that  in  such  a  mood  she  was  best  let  alone. 


The  Black  Cat,  145 

Little  she  guessed  of  the  cause  of  all  this  ill- 
temper,  however. 

For  what  had  Carrie  been  doing  upstairs  ? 
Can  you  imagine  ? 

Watching  her  opportunity  when  she  thought 
no  one  was  observing  her,  she  had  run  to  the 
wood-closet,  seized  the  box  containing  the 
mice ;  and  had  actually  been  naughty  enough 
to  bring  it  upstairs,  carry  it  away  to  the  gar- 
ret, and  there  hide  it  behind  some  old  furni- 
ture. 

But  now  what  was  she  to  do  with  the  mice  ? 
How  was  she  to  tame  them,  now  that  she  had 
%em  ?  What  pleasure  or  good  could  they  be 
to  her  ? 

How  she  wished  that  she  had  done  as  Nellie 
told  her,  and  taken  the  box  at  once  to  Cathe- 
rine.    Now  she  was  afraid  to  do  it. 

And  yet  she  tried  to  persuade  herself  that 
there  was  no  reason  she  should  not  have  the 
mice  as  long  as  she  kept  them  out  of  mamma's 
way;  that  she  had  as  much  right  to  decide 
what  was  to  be  done  with  them  as  Nellie  ;  that 
10 


146  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

it  was  not  fair  that  Daisy  should  keep  her  pets 
any  more  than  herself. 

But  why,  if  all  this  were  true,  did  Carrie  fear 
to  betray  her  secret;  why  was  she  so  guilty 
and  miserable  ? 

Presently  Ruth  returned,  rather  incensed  at 
finding  Carrie  in  the  nursery,  and  at  having 
had  "  so  much  trouble  for  nothing." 

Neither  nurse  nor  child  being  in  a  very 
good  humor,  the  process  of  dressing  Carrie  was 
not  likely  to  be  a  very  pleasant  one ;  and  see- 
ing this,  and  that  baby  was  growing  restless, 
Nellie  thought  she  had  better  wait  till  it  was 
accomplished. 

There  was  need  for  the  children  to  be  help 
ful  and  obliging  in  Mrs.  Ransom's  nursery. 
Eour  little  girls,  one  a  young  infant,  who  all 
required  more  or  less  care,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  occasional  calls  of  their  brothers,  gave 
enough  to  do  ;  and  as  their  now  invalid  mother 
was  able  to  assist  but  little,  it  was  necessary 
that  the  older  ones  should  learn  to  help  them- 
selves and  one  another. 


The  Black  Cat,  147 

Daisy,  in  spite  of  the  floods  of  tears  which 
had  been  so  frequent  until  within  the  last  few 
days  since  she  had  taken  so  much  pains  to 
check  them,  was,  as  Ruth  said,  "  the  blessedest 
child  to  have  to  do  with,"  giving  no  trouble 
beyond  what  her  tender  age  required ;  patient, 
obliging,  and  winsome.  Nellie  was  generally 
ready  to  give  any  assistance  that  was  needed, 
to  tend  baby  awhile,  put  Daisy  to  bed,  or  any 
other  little  office  not  too  hard  for  her  ;  and  few 
little  girls  of  her  age  do  as  much  for  them- 
selves as  she  was  accustomed  to  do.  And 
since  she  had  resolved  to  give  all  the  help  she 
could  to  mamma,  she  did  all  this  pleasantly 
and  cheerfully ;  often,  as  in  the  present  case, 
not  waiting  to  be  asked,  but  taking  up  the 
small  duty  of  her  own  free  will. 

"  She's  the  wisest  head  of  her  age  ever  I 
saw,  has  Miss  Nellie,"  the  admiring  nurse 
would  say  to  Mrs.  Ransom,  when  some  little 
thoughtful  act  had  lightened  her  labors,  or  put 
aside  the  necessity  of  calling  upon  her  feeble 
mistress. 


148  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

But  poor  Carrie  had  neither  Nellie's  gentle 
consideration,  nor  Daisy's  sunny  temper,  and 
when,  as  now,  she  was  not  in  a  good  humor, 
she  was  a  sore  trial  to  the  nurse  ;  and  seeing 
that  there  was  every  probability  of  a  stormy 
time,  Nellie  decided  to  stay  and  amuse  the 
baby  till  Ruth  should  be  at  leisure  to  take  it. 
Mamma  would  rather  wait  for  her  than  to  be 
called  upstairs  by  baby's  cries. 

It  was  as  she  had  feared.  In  three  minutes 
a  battle  royal  was  raging  between  Carrie  and 
the  nurse. 

It  did  not  call  Mrs.  Ransom  up  to  the  nur- 
sery, as  Nellie  feared  it  would ;  but  it  brought 
her  to  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  whence  she 
called  to  Carrie  in  a  tone  of  more  sadness 
than  severity ;  and  Carrie  did  look  and  feel 
ashamed,  when  Ruth  remarked,  — 

"  See  there  now,  how  you're  worrying  your 
mother.     Daisy  wouldn't  do  that." 

But  although  she  now  submitted  to  be  dres- 
sed, it  was  still  with  pouting  looks,  and  much 
pettish  twisting  and  wriggling,  making  Ruth's 


The  Black  Cat,  149 

task  uo  light  one,  and  taking  far  more  time 
than  it  would  have  done  if  Carrie  had  been 
patient  and  amiable.  But  how  could  she  be 
patient  and  good-humored  with  that  uncomfort- 
able secret  weighing  on  her  mind  ? 

Presently,  Daisy  came  running  up  to  the 
nursery. 

"  Where's  Frankie  ?  "  asked  Nellie,  seeing 
that  she  was  alone. 

"  Gone  home.  Jane  came  for  him,"  an- 
swered Daisy,  "  and  mamma  told  Jane  to  ask 
Maggie's  and  Bessie's  mamma  to  let  them 
come  and  play  with  you  this  afternoon ;  and 
Frankie  said  he'd  just  as  lieve  come  back  too ; 
and  mamma  said  he  could.  But,  0  Nellie! 
what  do  you  fink  ?  a  great  big,  ugly,  black  cat 
came  in  the  garden-house,  and  she  was  so 
saucy  she  was  looking  at  my  white  mice." 

"  Was  she  ?  Oh,  dear !  "  said  Nellie.  "  Is 
she  there  now,  Daisy  ?  " 

"  No,  no,"  said  Daisy,  "  we  wouldn't  let  her 
stay.  Frankie  shu'ed  her  way  far  off,  and 
chased  her  wif  a  stick,  and  she  put  up  her 


150  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

back  at  him,  and  was  mad  at  him;  but  he 
wasn't  'f  aid  of  her,  not  a  bit.  Nellie,  do  black 
cats  eat  white  mice  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Nellie  looking  uneasy. 
"  Do  they,  Ruth  ?  " 

"  You  may  trust  any  cat  to  do  that,  if  she 
gets  the  chance,"  said  Ruth.  "  Daisy,  my 
pet,  did  you  shut  the  door  of  the  garden-house 
after  you?" 

"  Yes,  always  I  shut  it,  'fear  mamma  might 
some  way  see  the  mice,"  answered  Daisy. 
"  But  the  black  cat's  gone  quite,  quite  away, 
Nellie." 

"  She  might  come  back  if  she  has  seen  the 
mice,  and  try  to  come  at  them,"  said  Nellie  in 
a  low  tone  to  the  nurse. 

"  It  is  what  I  was  thinking,"  said  Ruth. 

"  I'm  going  to  take  baby  out  for  a  bit  when 
I  have  these  two  dressed,  and  I'll  just  walk 
down  that  way  and  see  that  all's  right.  It 
would  just  break  that  lamb's  heart  if  aught 
happened  to  her  mice.  I'll  get  along  nicely 
now  if  you  want  to  go,  Miss  Nellie.  Daisy's 
no  trouble." 


The  Black  Cat.  151 

Baby  delighted  in  Daisy  as  a  playmate,  and 
was  now  crowing  in  the  most  satisfied  manner 
as  she  danced  back  and  forth  before  her  ;  clap- 
ping her  hands  and  exclaiming,  "Jackins  and 
forwis,  jackins  and  forwis."  The  interpretation 
of  these  mysterious  words  being,  "  backwards 
and  forwards." 

Nellie  went  downstairs,  and  explained  to 
her  mother  why  she  had  delayed,  without 
making  any  complaint  of  Carrie.  She  told 
her  also  of  the  black  cat,  and  said  she  felt  un- 
easy about  Daisy's  white  mice,  and  thought 
she  would  go  and  see  that  the  creature  had 
not  returned. 

Mrs.  Ransom  herself  was  disturbed  when 
she  heard  of  the  unwelcome  intruder  upon  the 
premises,  for  she,  too,  feared  danger  to  Daisy's 
pets. 

Her  anxiety  and  Nellie's  proved  too  well 
founded ;  for  when  the  latter  reached  the 
garden-house,  she  discovered  the  black  cat 
forcing  her  way  under  the  door,  there  being 
quite   an   open   space   between  that  and  the 


152  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

ground,  as  the  little  building  was  old  and 
somewhat  out  of  repair.  Nellie  drove  the  cat 
away  once  more,  and  put  a  board  against  the 
aperture ;  but  she  could  not  but  feel  that 
Daisy's  pets  were  in  much  danger,  and  she 
could  not  bear  to  think  of  her  distress  if  such 
a  terrible  fate  befel  them. 

"  I  think  the  mice  had  better  be  brought  up 
to  the  house,  Nellie,"  said  Mrs.  Ransom,  when 
Nellie  returned  and  made  her  report. 

Carrie  heard,  for  she  had  come  downstairs, 
meanwhile,  and  fresh  jealousy  of  Daisy  took 
possession  of  her. 

"  Mamma  don't  care  if  Daisy  has  her  mice 
in  the  house,"  she  said  to  herself,  "  so  I  might 
just  as  well  have  mine  upstairs.  One  is  no 
worse  than  the  other." 

Carrie  was  doing  her  best  to  drown  her  re- 
morseful feelings,  and  to  persuade  herself  that 
she  was  doing  nothing  wrong  and  undutiful, 
trying  rather  to  feel  injured  and  martyr-like ; 
but  it  was  up-hill  work  with  her  own  con- 
science.    For  although  she  was  a  little  apt  to 


The  Black  Cat,  153 

be  jealous  of  the  other  children,  and  fretful  at 
times,  she  was  very  seldom  disobedient  or  re- 
gardless of  her  mother's  wishes,  and  she  had 
not  had  one  easy  moment  since  she  had 
hidden  the  mice.  But  for  all  that,  she  was 
determined  to  think  herself  hardly  used,  and 
Daisy  preferred  to  herself.  And  it  seemed  to 
her  as  if  Nellie  must  know  and  ir-3ant  to  re- 
proach her,  when  she .  said  in  answer  to  her 
mother's  last  words,  — 

"Oh,  no,  mamma !  it  would  neve1*  do  to 
have  the  mice  brought  into  the  house,  pud  you 
made  uncomfortable.  I  am  sure  Daisy  vould 
never  wish  to  do  that,  no  matter  what  be^nme 
of  the  white  mice." 

"  But  I  can't  have  the  poor  creatures  de- 
stroyed by  that  cat,"  said  Mrs.  Ransom, 
uneasily. 

"No,"  said  Nellie,  "but  perhaps  we  couH 
— "  she  hesitated,  not  knowing  what  plan 
to  advise. 

"  As  soon  as  the  boys  come  home  we  will  see 
if  they  can  find  any  way  to  make  the  garden 
house  secure,"  said  her  mother. 


154  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

Ten  minutes  later,  when  Nellie  had  settled 
down  to  her  reading,  but  with  thoughts  which 
would  wander  away  to  the  garden-house, 
white  mice  and  black  cat,  the  boys  came  in 
from  school,  and  were  speedily  made  acquainted 
with  the  facts  of  the  case. 

This  was  nuts  for  Johnny  and  Bob ;  and 
true  to  that  aversion  with  which  every  well 
regulated  boy-mind  must  regard  all  animals 
of  her  species,  away  they  rushed  in  search  of 
the  black  cat,  intending  to  take  the  direst  ven- 
geance upon  her,  if  they  caught  her  again 
threatening  Daisy's  darlings. 

And  there  she  was  once  more,  this  time 
forcing  her  way  beneath  the  wall  of  the  slight 
structure,  which,  never  very  strong  even  in 
its  best  days,  was  now  fast  tumbling  into 
decay,  and  presented  many  an  aperture  and 
crack  passable  to  cats,  or  other  small  animals. 

She  saw  the  boys,  however,  before  they 
could  catch  her ;  and,  either  knowing  that  she 
was  trespassing,  or  instinctively  aware  of  what 
would  befall  her  if  she  fell  into  their  hands, 


The  Black  Cat.  155 

she  fled  before  them,  and  was  presently  out  of 
their  reach. 

Bob  and  Johnny  soon  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  garden-house  was  no  longer  a  safe 
shelter  for  the  white  mice.  Although  it  did 
present  a  pretty  appearance  from  the  outside, 
covered  as  it  was  with  flowering  vines,  it  was 
so  thoroughly  ruinous  that  they  found  it  would 
take  at  least  two  or  three  days  to  make  it 
at  all  secure  against  a  determined  and  greedy 
pussy.  They  might  watch  and  keep  her  away 
in  the  daytime ;  but  what  was  to  be  done  at 
night  ? 

No,  Daisy's  pets  could  no  longer  be  left 
there,  if  they  were  to  be  saved  from  pussy's 
clutches. 

The  boys  went  back  to  the  house  and  re- 
ported ;  asking  their  mother  what  they  should 
do,  for  there  seemed  fco  be  no  other  proper  or 
convenient  place  for  the  white  mice. 

"I'll  think  about  it,"  said  Mrs.  Ransom, 
who  was  trying  to  make  up  her  mind  to  allow 
the  mice  to  be  brought  into  the  house,  "  and 


156  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

will  tell  you  what  to  do  after  dinner.  Will 
they  be  safe  till  then,  do  you  think  ? " 

"  Yes,  mamma,"  answered  Johnny,  "  for 
we  set  Rover  to  watch  there,  and  he'll  see  after 
that  old  beast  if  she  comes  around  again,  but 
we  can't  keep  him  there  all  day,  and  she's  sure 
to  do  it  some  time,  if  we  leave  the  mice  there.' ' 

"  Don't  trouble  Daisy  about  it,"  said  Mrs. 
Ransom,  "  there  is  no  need  to  tell  her  just 


VIII. 


DAISY'S  SACRIFICE. 


OVER  had  to  be  released  by  and  by 
after  dinner,  of  course,  but  it  did  not 
seem  to  matter  so  much  by  that  time, 
for  Daisy  went  to  her  pets,  and  the  cat  would 
not  dare  to  come  near  them  so  long  as  she  was 
there. 

So  every  one  believed  ;  but  this  proved  to  be 
a  mistake,  for  puss  was  more  persistent  and 
daring  than  any  one  would  have  thought 
possible. 

"  Johnny,"  said  Mrs.  Ransom,  when  Daisy 
had  gone,  "  could  you  not  arrange  some  place 
up  in  the  garret  where  Daisy  could  keep  her 
mice  and  they  need  not  come  in  my  way  ?  " 


158  Nellie's  Housekeeping-. 

"It  is  just  what  I  was  thinking  of,  mam- 
ma," said  Johnny ;  "  you  need  never  know 
they  were  there." 

"  There  now,"  said  Carrie  to  herself,  "  so 
it  is  no  harm  at  all  for  me  to  have  my  mice  up 
there.     I  shall  just  keep  them." 

For  repentant  resolutions  of  giving  up  her 
hidden  prize,  and  disposing  of  it  in  some  way 
without  betraying  herself,  were  flitting  through 
Carrie's  mind ;  but  now  she  put  them  from  her 
again. 

"  First,  we'll  see  if  we  cannot  knock  up 
some  sort  of  a  support  to  hold  a  hook  in  the 
garden-house,"  said  Johnny,  "  and  then  we'll 
hang  the  cage  upon  that.  The  roof  is  so  old 
and  broken  it  will  not  hold ;  but  we  may  put 
something  in  the  wall  to  keep  the  cage  out  of 
the  cat's  reach,  and  we'll  try  it  before  we 
bring  them  in  the  house,  mamma." 

Daisy  fed  her  mice,  as  she  generally  did  at 
this  time  of  the  day,  —  the  little  creatures 
nibbled  their  food  right  out  of  her  hand  — 
played  with  and  fondled  them,  talking  to  them 


Daisy's  Sacrifice.  159 

the  while  in  a  coaxing,  crooning  voice  of  all 
her  affairs,  unconscious  of  the  cruel,  greedy 
eyes  which  were  watching  her  every  motion 
and  those  of  her  pets. 

For  Rover  having  gone,  puss  had  made  the 
most  of  her  opportunities,  and  came  creeping 
slowly  and  stealthily  beneath  bushes  and  bo- 
hind  walls,  till  she  reached  the  garden-house 
once  more ;  and  climbing  to  the  roof  sat 
watching  the  little  child  and  her  playthings 
through  a  hole  in  the  thatch. 

And,  by  and  by,  this  naughty  bete  noir 
thought  her  chance  had  come. 

"  Now,  you  ducky  darlin's,"  said  Daisy, 
"  I  b'lieve  it's  time  for  Frankie  to  come  back 
to  my  house  and  play  wif  me.  So  you  muf  t 
go  in  your  cage  while  I  go  and  see,  and  well 
come  back  and  play  here  where  you  can  see  us. 
No,  you  needn't  want  to  go  into  the  house  wif 
me.  Mamma  don't  like  you,  which  is  a  great, 
great  pity;  but  she  can't  help  it." 

The  mice  seemed  strangely  reluctant  to  go 
back  in  their  cage,  whether  it  was  that  they 


160  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

only  scented  their  watchful  enemy,  or  that 
they  had  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  glittering 
eyes  looking  down  upon  them ;  for  one,  with  a 
squeak  of  terror,  fled  into  the  depths  of 
Daisy's  pocket,  and  the  other  would  have  fol- 
lowed had  she  not  caught  him  in  her  hand  and 
stopped  him. 

"  No,  no,"  she  said,  "  you'll  have  to  go  into 
your  cage,  Dot,  and  you  too,  Ditto.  Peoples 
have  to  do  what  they  don't  want  to  sometimes, 
and  so  do  mouses.  I've  found  that  out,"  and 
Daisy  shook  her  head  with  the  air  of  one  who 
has  made  a  novel  and  important  discovery. 

She  put  the  mice  into  the  cage,  where  they 
speedily  hid  themselves  beneath  their  bed, 
shut  and  fastened  the  door  and  set  it  upon  the 
floor,  believing  that  she  would  return  in  a 
moment  with  Frankie  and  let  them  out 
again. 

Then  she  ran  away  to  the  house,  where,  as 
she  had  expected,  she  found  Frankie  who  had 
just  arrived  with  his  sisters,  Maggie  and  Bessie. 
They  had  not  cared  to  wait  till  their  mother 


Daisy's  Sacrifice.  161 

came  to  take  Mrs.  Ransom  to  drive,  but  had 
begged  and  received  permission  to  walk  over 
that  they  might  have  the  longer  afternoon  for 
their  visit. 

Daisy  and  Frankie  were  off  together  imme- 
diately, and  the  four  elder  children  were  set- 
tling the  question  of  u  what  shall  we  do  first  ?  " 
when  the  whole  household  were  startled  by  a 
succession  of  fearful  shrieks  from  Daisy,  ac- 
companied by  shouts  of  defiance  and  threats 
from  Frankie.  The  sounds  came  from  the 
garden-house;  and  Daisy's  cry  was  not  the 
dismal,  low  wail  she  set  up  at  times  over  some 
minor  trouble,  but  an  unmistakable  scream  of 
terror  and  pain. 

Away  ran  every  one  to  see  what  was  the 
matter ;  mother,  brothers  and  sisters,  guests 
and  servants  ;  even  Ruth,  baby  in  arms,  tearing 
down  the  stairs  to  follow  the  rest. 

The     garden-house     reached,     the    trouble 

proved  not   as    serious   as   might  have   been 

feared  ;   but  quite  enough  so  to  warrant   all 

the  uproar  from  the  two  distressed  little  ones. 

11 


1 62  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

There  crouched  Daisy  in  an  ecstasy  of  ter* 
ror,  bending  over  her  white  mice,  which  she 
held  cuddled  up  in  her  lap  ;  never  ceasing  her 
screams  and  calls  for  help,  while  Fr ankle 
brandishing  a  hoe  stood  boldly  between  her 
and  the  black  cat,  which  with  glaring  eyes, 
back  erect,  stood  spitting  and  growling  at  the 
two  children,  determined  no  longer  to  be 
balked  of  her  prey.  For  this  was  no  tame  puss 
accustomed  to  be  fed,  and  having  a  comforta- 
ble home ;  but  a  wild,  stray  cat,  half-starved, 
and  now  quite  furious  at  seeing  her  intended 
prize  once  more  rescued. 

Not  fairly  rescued,  if  she  could  help  it. 
Long  waiting  for  the  dainty  meal  and  many 
disappointments  had  made  her  desperate  ;  and 
more  than  once  she  had  nearly  sprung  past 
the  brave  little  Frankie,  who,  resolute  as  the 
brute  herself,  fairly  stood  his  ground,  and 
faced  her  at  every  turn,  calling  aloud,  — 

"  Hi !  you  there !  you'd  better  be  off  with 
yourself.  Now,  you ;  you'll  catch  it !  I'll  give 
it  to  you !    I'll  hoe  you  if  you  don't  look  out ! 


Daisy's  Sacrifice,  163 

You  want  to  be  hoed,  do  you  ?  I  won't  let  her 
get  them,  Daisy.     Run,  Daisy,  run !  " 

But  Daisy  was  past  running ;  terror  had 
taken  all  power  from  her  save  that  of  shield- 
ing her  pets,  as  she  best  could,  against  her 
bosom,  and  shrieking  aloud  for  help. 

It  was  well  that  help  was  so  close  at  hand, 
or  the  situation  of  the  two  little  ones  might 
indeed  have  become  dangerous ;  but  at  the 
sight  of  so  many  flocking  to  the  rescue,  the 
cat  turned  and  fled,  pursued  by  the  boys  with 
stones  and  sticks,  —  and  who  could  blame  them 
in  such  a  case  as  this  ?  —  but  escaped  without 
much  hurt  from  the  missiles  which  they  threw 
with  better  will  than  aim. 

The  story  was  soon  told:  how,  coming  to 
the  garden-house  and  pushing  open  the  door, 
the  first  thing  that  presented  itself  to  the  eyes 
of  Daisy  and  Frankie  was  the  black  cat,  with 
one  paw  actually  in  the  cage,  the  mice  squeak- 
ing in  terror,  and  shrinking  from  the  cruel 
claws  outstretched  for  their  destruction;  how 
Frankie  had  snatched  the  cage  away,  and  the 


164  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

mice  had  immediately  fled  to  the  protection  of 
Daisy's  bosom,  whence  the  cat  had  once  tried 
to  tear  them. 

How  the  brave  little  knight  had  fought  her 
off,  and  then  tried  to  stand  between  his  tiny 
lady-love  and  farther  harm,  the  new-comers 
had  seen  for  themselves  ;  how  devotedly  Daisy 
herself  had  clung  to  her  darlings,  and  how 
furious  their  enemy  had  been,  was  testified  by 
the  poor  little  woman's  torn  and  scratched 
arm,  bleeding  from  the  adversary's  claws,  and 
the  bent  and  twisted  bars  of  the  cage. 

It  was  plainly  to  be  seen  that  the  garden 
house  was  no  longer  a  safe  place  for  the  white 
mice,  not  even  until  such  time  as  the  boys 
could  arrange  some  contrivance  for  hanging 
up  the  cage ;  and  now  Mrs.  Ransom  almost 
forgot  her  dread  of  them  in  her  sympathy  over 
her  poor  little  girl's  distress  and  bleeding 
arms. 

Poor  little  dimpled  white  arms !  even  now 
they  would  not  relax  their  sheltering  hold  of 
the  white  mice,  but  held  them  firmly  clasped. 


Daisy's  Sacrifice.  165 

Daisy  was  speedily  carried  to  the  house,  and 
once  more  seated,  white  mice  and  all,  on  her 
mother's  lap,  while  her  scratches  were  bathed 
and  bound  up. 

"  A  wag  on  it "  was  Daisy's  sovereign 
remedy  for  every  thing  in  the  shape  of  a 
wound  or  bruise. 

"  Let  me  put  your  mice  away,  darling," 
said  Nellie,  ever  mindful  of  her  mother's 
antipathy. 

"  Oh,  no  !  don't  take  'em  out.  Mamma 
might  see  'em,  and  she  can't  bear  'em,"  sobbed 
Daisy,  holding  the  little  skirt  tighter  than  ever. 
"  And  oh,  dear !  I  b'lieve  I'll  have  to  give 
'em  back  to  Frankie,  'cause  I  can't  let  'em  live 
in  the  garden-house  for  that  black  old  dread- 
ful cat  to  eat' them  up,  and  I  s'pose  mamma 
wouldn't  want  me  to  live  there  all  the  time, 
even  with  some  one  to  take  care  of  me." 

No,  indeed,  mamma  thought  not,  as  she 
folded  the  darling  closer  in  her  arms,  and  bade 
her  cry  no  more ;  for  her  white  mice  should 
come  into  the  house,  and  the  boys  should 


1 66  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

arrange  a  place  for  them  where  they  would  be 
quite  safe  from  black  cats  and  other  enemies. 

To  see  the  change  in  Daisy's  face ! 

"  Mamma !  don't  you  mind  ?  don't  you 
weally  mind  ?     Won't  they  trouble  you  ?  - 

It  was  not  possible  for  Mrs.  Ransom  to  say 
that  she  would  not  be  annoyed  by  the  presence 
of  the  white  mice,  in  the  house,  even  though 
they  might  never  come  under  her  own  eye  ; 
and,  although  for  Daisy's  sake  she  put  aside 
her  own  feelings,  the  loving  heart  of  the  little 
one  detected  the  slight  reluctance  with  which 
she  spoke. 

"  Mamma  couldn't  have  your  white  mice 
destroyed,  darling,"  she  answered ;  "  and  if 
Daisy  is  so  careful  for  mamma,  mamma  must 
be  careful  for  Daisy.     So  let  the  mice  come 
Suppose  you  let  Nellie  take  them  now." 

Opening  her  skirt,  Daisy  revealed  the  mice, 
still  trembling  and  quivering  with  their  fright ; 
and,  seeking  to  hide  themselves,  the  one  made 
for  the  bosom  of  her  dress,  the  other  unluckily 
ran  over  mamma's  lap  looking  for  some  place 


Daisy's  Sacrifice.  167 

of  refuge.  Johnny's  hand  was  over  him  in  an 
instant,  but  not  before  his  mother  had  grown 
white  to  the  lips,  and  in  spite  of  a  strong  effort 
she  could  not  control  a  shudder  of  disgust. 
This  did  not  escape  Daisy. 

"  Better  put  'em  away,  quick,  'way  far  off, 
Johnny,"  she  said  in  a  pitiful  little  voice,  and 
resigning  the  other  mouse  to  his  care ;  and 
Johnny  carried  both  away. 

Daisy  was  used  to  petting;  but  in  conse- 
quence of  her  misfortunes,  and  the  honorable 
wounds  she  had  received  in  the  skirmish,  she 
was  so  overwhelmed  with  attentions  and  ca- 
resses, not  only  from  her  own  family,  but  also 
from  Maggie  and  Bessie,  that  she  was  presently 
consoled,  and  beguiled  from  mamma's  lap  to 
the  piazza,  where  she  was  seated  in  state  among 
her  admirers,  and  continued  to  be  made  much 
of. 

Frankie  also  came  in  for  a  share  of  the 
honors  he  had  so  fairly  won  by  his  heroic 
defence  of  his  little  lady-love  and  her  property ; 
but  he  presently  concluded  he  had  had  enough 


1 68  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

of  them,  and  would  like  to  go  upstairs  with 
the  older  boys  and  watch  them  at  their  work. 
He  would  fain  have  persuaded  Daisy  to  go  with 
him,  but  she  still  remained  mournful  and  sub- 
dued, and  preferred  to  stay  with  the  little  girls 
and  be  petted. 

For  there  was  a  great  weight  on  Daisy's 
little  mind,  and  a  great  purpose  working  there, 
—  a  purpose  which  required  much  resolution 
and  much  self-sacrifice ;  and  it  was  hard  to 
bring  her  courage  to  the  point.  She  had  small 
thought  for  what  the  other  children  were  say- 
ing, as  she  sat  nestled  close  to  Nellie's  side, 
with  her  sister's  arm  about  her,  and  one  of 
Bessie's  hands  clasped  in  her  own. 

Carrie's  thoughts  were  not  more  easy  than 
Daisy's,  and  they  were  far  less  innocent.  She 
was  in  an  agony  lest  the  boys,  who  were  now 
in  the  garret,  should  discover  her  secret.  And 
there  was  Frankie  with  them  !  Frankie,  who 
had  a  faculty  for  finding  that  which  he  was 
not  intended  to  find,  for  seeing  that  which 
he  was  not  intended  to  see,  for  hearing  that 


Daisy's  Sacrifice.  169 

which  he  was  not  intended  to  hear ;  who,  full 
of  mischief  and  curiosity,  went  poking  and  pry- 
ing everywhere,  and  whose  bright  eyes  and 
busy  fingers  would,  she  feared,  be  sure  to 
fasten  themselves  upon  the  hidden  box.  But 
she  dared  not  follow  the  boys  upstairs,  for 
it  would  seem  strange  if  she  left  Maggie  and 
Bessie,  and  her  doing  so  might  excite  ques- 
tions. 

Oh  that  she  had  never  touched  the  mice,  or 
had  at  once  obeyed  Nellie's  directions  respect- 
ing them,  which  Carrie's  conscience  told  her 
now,  as  it  had  at  the  time,  was  the  same  as  if 
her  mother  had  given  them  ! 

"  Nellie  and  Carrie,"  said  Maggie,  "  what  do 
you  think  we  are  doing,  Bessie  and  I  ?  " 

"  We  don't  know.     What  ?  "  said  Nellie. 

"  Guess,"  answered  Maggie. 

"  Oh !  I'm  not  good  at  guessing,"  said  Nellie, 
smiling.  "  I  never  guessed  any  thing  or  an- 
swered a  conundrum  in  rny  life,  except  some 
of  Daisy's ; "  and  she  drew  her  arm  closer 
about  the  pensive  little  mortal  at  her  side. 


170  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

Daisy's  conundrums  were  many  and  various, 
some  so  very  transparent  that  she  might  as 
well  have  given  the  answer  with  the  question, 
others  so  extremely  bewildering  that  (Edipus 
himself  could  scarcely  have  unravelled  their 
meaning;  and  it  was  in  these  last  that 
she  gloried,  always  feeling  rather  aggrieved 
if  any  one  gave  the  right  answer. 

"  She  gave  a  conundrum  last  night  that 
none  of  us  could  guess,"  continued  Nellie, 
wishing  to  amuse  and  interest  her  little  sister. 
"  See  if  Maggie  and  Bessie  can  guess  it  now, 
Daisy." 

Daisy  aroused  a  little  from  her  melancholy, 
and  said  in  a  plaintive  voice,  — 

"  Why  don't  a  pig  wif  a  ni'gown  on  him 
want  to  go  to  the  kitchen  fire  ?  " 

Maggie  and  Bessie  gave  up  at  once,  knowing 
that  this  would  be  Daisy's  preference  ;  besides 
being  really  quite  at  a  loss  to  understand  why 
a  pig  in  such  unusual  attire  should  shun  that 
particular  spot,  "  the  kitchen  fire." 

"  Because  he's  af 'aid  he'll  burn  his  ni'gown," 


Daisy's  Sacrifice.  171 

said  Daisy,  when  she  was  called  upon  for  the 
answer,  which  Maggie  and  Bessie  pronounced 
"  very  good ;  "  and,  being  encouraged  by  her 
success,  the  pitiful  little  damsel  -put  forth 
another  conundrum,  having  reference  to  the 
subject  which  was  weighing  so  heavily  on  her 
mind. 

"  Here's  anofer  one,"  she  said :  "  Why  don't 
white  mice  like  to  live  in  the  garden-house  ?  " 

"  Because  they  are  afraid  the  black  cat  will 
eat  them,"  said  Carrie,  less  mindful  of  her 
sister's  prejudices  than  Maggie  and  Bessie  had 
been. 

"Now,  why  did  you  guess  it  so  soon  ?"  said 
the  affronted  Daisy ;  and  this  proving  the  drop 
too  much  in  the  already  overflowing  cup,  her 
head  went  down  in  Nellie's  lap,  and  she  re- 
signed herself  to  tears  once  more. 

None  of  the  other  children  dreamed  of  the 
chief  trouble  which  was  weighing  on  her  little 
heart;  but  her  misfortunes  of  the  afternoon 
were  considered  so  serious  that  no  one  thought 
it  at  all  strange  that  she  should  be  in  a  melan- 


172  Nellie's  Housekeeping, 

choly  state  of  mind.  Still,  silent  sympathy,  at 
present,  seemed  the  best  to  Nellie,  and  she 
contented  herself  with  softly  caressing  the  bent 
head,  and  checked  the  others  with  uplifted 
finger  when  they  would  have  cheered  Daisy 
with  spoken  words. 

"  Talk  about  something  else,"  she  spelled 
out  in  the  sign  alphabet,  and  then  asked 
aloud,  — 

"  What  is  it  you  and  Bessie  are  doing, 
Maggie  ?  " 

"  Making  such  lovely  Christmas  presents  for 
mamma,"  answered  Maggie. 

"  What !  already  ?  "  said  Carrie. 

"  Yes,"  said  Maggie,  "  because  it  will  take 
us  so  long  to  work  it,  and  we  have  lots  besides 
to  do.  And  then  some  dreadful  accident 
might  happen  to  us  to  prevent  our  finishing  it, 
you  know,  like  Sir  Percy  nearly  putting  out 
Lily  Norris'  eye ;  so  it's  best  to  take  time  by 
the  forelock  at  once,  even  if  it  is  only  July." 

"  What  are  you  making  ?  "  asked  Nellie. 

"  A  pair  of  brackets,  the  loveliest  things," 


Daisys  Sacrifice,  173 

answered  Maggie,  with  emphasis.  "  Bessie  is 
filling  up  one,  and  I  the  other." 

"  And  we  are  going  to  have  them  made  up 
ourselves,  quite  ourselves,  out  of  our  own 
money,"  said  Bessie.  "  Nellie,  why  wouldn't 
you  like  to  make  something  for  your  mamma 
of  your  own  work  ?  You  can  do  worsted  work 
so  very  nicely." 

"  I  would  like  to  very  much,"  said  Nellie. 
"  And  I  have  some  money  of  my  own  that  I 
could  use." 

"  I  shall  do  it  too,"  said  Carrie. 

"  If  you  would  like  to  do  the  same  thing  that 
we  are  doing,"  said  Maggie,  "  Mrs.  Finken- 
stadt  has  another  pair  of  brackets  nearly 
like  ours,  and  at  the  same  price.  They  are 
very  pretty." 

"But  I'm  afraid" — began  Nellie,  then 
paused. 

"  Not  that  you  don't  know  how,"  said  Mag- 
gie ;  "  why,  Nellie,  every  one  knows  you  work 
better  than  any  of  us." 

"I   was   thinking   if   I   would    have   time 


174  Nellie* s  Housekeeping. 

enough,"  said  Nellie,  "  now  that  I  am  mam- 
ma's housekeeper.  It  takes  up  a  good  deal 
of  time  ;  and  then  —  and  then  "  — 

"  Oh !  it's  your  old  books,"  said  Carrie. 
"  I  should  think  you  might  be  willing  to  give 
them  up  to  make  something  pretty  for  mamma. 
If  you  didn't  study  so  much  more  than  any  of 
the  other  girls,  you  could  do  it  very  well.  I 
think  you  might  make  one  ;  for  then  I  could  do 
the  other,  if  you  would  show  me  how." 

"  I'll  show  you  how  and  help  you  all  I  can," 
said  Nellie,  "  but  I  do  not  think  I  shall  try  to 
do  one  myself.  And  it's  not  because  of  my 
studies,  Carrie,  but  for  another  reason  that 
I'd  rather  not  tell." 

"  Mamma  would  just  as  lief  let  you  give  up 
being  her  housekeeper  if  you  want  to  do  some- 
thing else  for  her,"  said  Carrie. 

"  I  don't  want  her  to,"  answered  Nellie, 
"for  —  I  do  believe  I  am  of  use  to  mamma, 
and  I  would  not  like  to  put  that  off  for  some- 
thing that  is  not  necessary.  Besides,  I  have 
still  another  reason." 


Daisy's  Sacrifice.  175 

"  I'm  sure  I  think  it  seems  a  great  deal  more 
to  make  a  lovely  Christmas  present  for  mam- 
ma than  to  do  housekeeping  for  her.  I  be- 
lieve she'd  rather,"  said  Carrie. 

"  I  don't  believe  so,"  answered  Nellie. 

"  And,  Carrie,"  said  Maggie,  "  very  often  m 
this  world  we  have  to  put  up  with  appearances 
being  deceitful,  and  with  knowing  not  only 
that '  all  is  not  gold  that  glitters,'  but  also  that 
some  very  true  gold  does  not  glitter  at  all; 
and  Nellie's  private  reason  may  be  very  true 
gold,  indeed,  without  our  seeing  it  glitter. 
Besides,  mamma  says  Nellie  is  one  of  the  most 
sensible  little  girls  she  ever  saw  ;  and  I  believe 
she  is  a  case  of  '  old  head  on  young  shoulders,' 
so  we  may  as  well  think  that  she  is  wise  and 
right  until  we  know  differently." 

Maggie's  fine  speech,  overflowing  as  it  was 
with  proverbs,  silenced  Carrie,  as  her  wise 
sayings  did  usually  silence  her  companions, 
who  did  not  command  such  a  flow  of  ideas 
and  language ;  and  Nellie  gave  her  a  grateful 
look. 


176  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

"  Here's  mamma  in  the  carriage  to  take  out 
your  mamma,"  said  Bessie  ;  and  the  attention 
of  the  children  was  for  the  moment  diverted 
from  their  own  affairs. 

"  Will  you  go  and  drive  too,  Daisy  ?  "  said 
Mrs.  Bradford. 

"  No,  fank  you,  ma'am,"  answered  Daisy, 
much  to  the  astonishment  of  the  other  chil- 
dren, as  she  raised  her  woe-begone  little  face 
from  its  resting-place.  For  Daisy  was  gener- 
ally very  ready  for  a  drive,  or  for  an  outing  of 
any  kind. 

But  now  to  all  their  persuasions,  to  all  their 
expressions  of  surprise,  she  remained  perfectly 
immovable,  only  blinking  her  eyes  very  hard, 
pursing  up  her  rosy  lips,  and  shaking  her  head, 
in  the  most  deplorable  manner  possible. 

But  the  cause  of  this  came  out  when  Mrs. 
Bradford  and  Mrs.  Ransom  had  gone ;  for  as 
the  carriage  drove  away  the  boys  came  run- 
ning downstairs  and  out  upon  the  piazza. 

"  Now  your  white  mice  will  be  all  safe, 
Daisy,"  said  Frankie ;  "me  and  Johnny  and 


Daisy's  Sacrifice.  177 

Bob  have  made  the  first-ratest  place  for  them 
up  in  the  garret.  I'd  like  to  see  that  old  cat 
finding  them  up  there.  Come  and  see  how 
nice  it  is." 

"It's  no  matter  about  it,"  said  Dais\. 
"  You're  all  very  good,  and  I'm  very  obliged 
to  you ;  but  I  wouldn't  feel  to  keep  my  mice 
up  in  the  garret." 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  them 
then  ?  "  asked  Johnny. 

"  I  couldn't  have  'em  in  the  house  when 
mamma  feels  so  about  it,"  said  Daisy,  choking 
back  a  sob,  and  trying  to  be  very  brave. 

"  She  said  you  could,"  said  Bob. 

"  Yes,  I  know  she  did,"  answered  Daisy ; 
"  but  she  don't  like  it,  I  know  she  don't,  and 
so  I'm  going  to  give  'em  back  to  Frankie." 

"  But,  Daisy  "  —  began  Johnny. 

"No,  no,"  said  Daisy,  putting  out  a  little 
hand  to  stop  him,  "  don't  speak  to  me  about  it, 
Johnny,  'cause  I  do  feel  so  very  bad,  then 
maybe  I  wouldn't;  and  I  should  fink  a  little 
girl  who  wouldn't  rafer  please  her  mamma 
12 


178  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

than  to  have  white  mice  must  be  the  naughti- 
est little  girl  in  the  world." 

"  You  dear  little  thing! "  exclaimed  Maggie. 

"I  don't  believe  mamma  would  care  at  all 
so  long  as  she  never  saw  them,"  said  Bob  ; 
"  do  you,  Nellie  ?  " 

Nellie  hesitated. 

"  I  do  think  she  would  care"  she  answered 
reluctantly,  for  Daisy's  wistful  eyes  were 
raised  to  her  face,  as  if  hoping  for  an  encour- 
aging answer ;  "  but  she  has  made  up  her 
mind  to  bear  it  for  Daisy's  sake." 

"  But  I  don't  want  her  to  do  any  mone  sake 
for  me,"  sighed  Daisy.  "  I'd  better  do  sake  for 
her,  I  should  fink  ;  and  please  don't  speak  any 
more  about  it,  children.  I'd  like  to  have  'em 
to  play  wif  down  here  till  mamma  comes 
home ;  and  then  I'll  give  'em  back  to  Frankie 
for  ever  an'  ever  an'  ever.  That  was  why  I 
wouldn't  go  and  drive,  so  I  could  say  good  by 
to  'em." 

Nellie  did  not  oppose  her  self-sacrificing 
resolution,  hard  as  she  knew  it  was  for  the 


Daisy's  Sacrifice,  179 

child ;  for  she  was  sure  that  her  mamma  would 
never  feel  easy  while  the  creatures  were  in  the 
house,  and  she  was  sure  also  that  in  some 
way  she  would  make  it  up  to  Daisy. 

Not  that  Daisy  had  any  such  idea.  No, 
in  giving  up  her  mice  she  did  it  without  airy 
thought  of  payment,  only  to  save  mamma  from 
annoyance  and  discomfort,  a  great  and  gener- 
ous sacrifice  for  such  a  little  child ;  for  Daisy 
was  but  five  years  old,  you  must  remember ; 
and  this  showed  thought  and  consideration 
worthy  of  a  much  older  person.  But  then 
Daisy  always  had  been  remarkable  for  her 
tender,  clinging  love  for  her  mother,  and  her 
earnest  desire  to  please  her  in  all  things. 

It  struck  all  the  other  children ;  and  they 
overwhelmed  her  with  caresses  and  expres- 
sions of  admiration  and  affection ;  even  bluff 
Bob,  who  seldom  condescended  to  bestow  much 
flattering  notice  upon  his  sisters,  declaring,  — 

"  Well,  you  are  a  little  brick,  Daisy." 

It  was  pleasant  to  be  so  petted  and  admired, 
for  Daisy  dearly  loved  praise,  and  in  all  this 


180  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

she  found  consolation,  and  began  to  put  on 
little  airs  and  graces  befitting  a  heroine. 

Dear  little  lamb !  who  would  quarrel  with 
her  if  she  did? 

How  hard  it  went  with  her  might  be  seen  by 
the  working  of  the  sweet  face,  the  pitiful  pres- 
sure of  the  tiny  hands  one  against  the  other, 
the  swimming  eyes  and  choking  voice. 

It  was  too  much  for  Carrie. 

The  contrast  between  her  own  conduct  and 
that  of  her  little  sister  was  more  than  her  un- 
easy conscience  could  bear ;  secret  remorse 
and  shame  overwhelmed  her3  and  with  a  quick 
resolve  to  be  "  as  good  as  Daisy,"  and  sacrifice 
her  own  wishes  to  her  mother's  prejudices,  she 
slipped  away  from  the  other  children,  and  ran 
upstairs,  determined  to  put  the  gray  mice  out 
of  the  way. 


IX. 


MAKING  GINGER-CAKES. 


UT  how? 

Ah !  there  it  was.  That  which 
would  have  been  easy  and  simple 
enough  in  the  beginning,  had  she  but  done  as 
she  should,  and  taken  the  mice  at  once  to  the 
cook,  was  now  a  great  trouble  and  difficulty. 

For  if  she  took  them  to  Catherine  now,  the 
cook  would  ask  where  she  had  found  them, 
and  put  other  questions  which  she  would  not 
wish  to  answer ;  for  that  would  involve  a  con- 
fession she  had  no  mind  to  make,  penitent 
though  she  was,  or  thought  herself. 


1 82  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

And  how  was  she  to  put  the  mice  out  of  the 
way  herself?  She  could  not  tell  what  to  do 
with  them.  Should  she  carry  the  box  off 
somewhere,  away  to  the  woods  or  down  on  the 
shore,  and  let  the  mice  out  there  ? 

But  then  again,  if  she  did  this,  she  must 
leave  the  other  children,  her  little  guests 
Maggie  and  Bessie,  too  ;  and  this  would  excite 
wonder  and  curiosity  ;  more  than  that,  she  was 
not  allowed  to  go  out  of  their  own  grounds 
alone.  She  might  perhaps  hide  them  in  the 
garden-house  if  she  could  but  contrive  to  es- 
cape the  eyes  of  her  companions  for  a  few 
moments,  but  no,  the  black  cat  might  return 
in  search  of  Daisy's  pets,  and  her  own  fall 
victims  to  the  creature.  No,  that  plan  would 
never  answer  ;  but  what  should  she  do  ?  Oh ! 
if  she  only  had  known  beforehand  what  trou 
ble  and  unhappiness  her  momentary  disobe- 
dience and  deceit  would  bring  upon  her,  she 
would  never,  never  have  yielded  to  tempta- 
tion, and  hidden  the  mice.  Why  had  she  not 
taken  time  to  think  about  all  this  ? 


Making  Ginger-cakes.  183 

Ah,  Carrie,  there  it  is.  If  we  only  knew 
beforehand,  if  we  only  could  foresee  the  con- 
sequences of  our  wrong-doing,  the  misery  and 
punishment  we  shall  bring  upon  ourselves,  per- 
haps upon  others,  how  careful  it  would  make 
us  to  avoid  the  sin  !  But  the  pleasure  comes 
first,  the  punishment  after,  when  it  is  too  late  ; 
and  nothing  is  left  but  repentance  and  regret. 

Carrie  had  run  up  to  the  garret  once  more, 
hastily  taken  the  box  from  its  hiding-place, 
and  brought  it  down  to  the  room  next  her 
mother's,  which  she  and  Nellie  shared.  There 
she  stood  now,  a  most  unhappy  little  girl,  as 
such  thoughts  as  these  chased  one  another 
through  her  mind,  trying  to  think  of  some 
plan  for  ridding  herself  of  the  mice,  but  obliged 
to  reject  first  one  and  then  another. 

What  was  she  to  do  ? 

She  was  in  dread  this  very  moment  lest  the 
other  children  should  come  upstairs  and  find 
her  there  with  her  dreadful  secret ;  yes,  it  was 
dreadful  to  Carrie  now;  and  she  felt  almost 
angry  at  the  innocent  little  mice. 


184  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

You  have  all  heard  of  the  unhappy  man 
who  was  very  anxious  to  have  an  elephant, 
and  at  last  won  one  in  a  raffle ;  but  the  mo- 
ment it  was  his  own  he  did  not  know  what  to 
do  with  it,  and  would  have  been  glad  to  have 
some  one  take  it  off  his  hands.  Those  mice 
were  as  bad  as  so  many  elephants  to  poor 
Carrie,  and  oh,  how  she  wished  that  she  had 
never  seen  them  !  Seen  them  !  She  had  not 
even  done  that!  Only  heard  them  as  they 
rustled  in  their  prison-house ;  not  very  satis- 
factory payment  certainly  for  all  the  pain 
and  trouble  she  had  gone  through  ever  since 
she  had  taken  them.  The  man  at  least  could 
see  his  elephant,  but  her  mice  she  had  only 
heard. 

And  what  a  rustling  and  scratching  and 
gnawing  they  were  making  now  within  the 
box  which  stood  on  the  table  before  her, 
where  she  regarded  it  with  puzzled,  troubled 
face,  wishing  it  and  its  occupants  a  thousand 
miles  away ! 

There  was  a  little  hole  near  the  bottom  of 


Making  Ginger-cakes.  185 

the  box :  had  the  mice  gnawed  it,  trying  to 
make  their  escape  ?  And  how  had  they  come 
in  the  box,  and  how  many  were  there  ?  What 
a  noise  the}'  made  ! 

Forgetting  her  anxieties  for  one  moment, 
Carrie  took  up  the  box  again,  put  her  eye 
to  the  hole,  and  tried  to  peep  within.  But  it 
was  useless,  she  could  see  nothing ;  and  now 
the  mice,  frightened  by  her  movements,  were 
as  quiet,  —  well,  as  quiet  as  only  mice  can  be 
under  such  circumstances. 

Carrie  thought  she  would  open  the  lid  of  the 
box  a  little  and  peep  within,  just  a  very  little 
bit,  not  far  enough  for  the  mice  to  escape,  but 
so  she  could  see  how  many  were  there,  and 
what  they  looked  like.  Mice  were  such  dear 
little  things ! 

No  sooner  said  than  done.  She  raised  the 
lid,  cautiously  and  very  slightly  at  first,  then 
a  little  farther,  when,  quick  as  thought,  a 
mouse  sprang  through  the  opening,  and  in  a 
second  of  time  was  gone. 

Carrie  gave  a  start  as  sudden ;  the  box  fell 


186  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

from  her  hands,  the  cover  rolled  off,  and  there 
were  four  or  five  little  mice  tearing  wildly 
about  the  room,  seeking  each  one  for  a  hiding- 
place,  but  rather  bewildered  by  finding  them- 
selves so  abruptly  turned  out  from  their  old 
home,  and  scattered  abroad  upon  the  wide 
world. 

But  perhaps  you  would  like  to  hear  how  the 
mice  had  come  to  be  in  the  box,  and  I  will  let 
you  know.  The  mice  never  told  me;  but  I 
know  for  all  that,  and  this  was  the  way. 

Mother  Nibble,  having  strayed  into  the 
house  one  day,  made  her  way  into  the  store- 
room, and  there  found  this  box  with  the  lid 
partly  open,  a  fine  stock  of  chocolate  and 
barley  within,  and  plenty  of  soft,  tender  paper  ; 
and  made  up  her  mind  that  here  would  be  a 
quiet,  well-provisioned  house  in  which  to  bring 
up  her  young  family. 

And  here  they  had  remained  undisturbed 
until  that  very  morning,  when  Nellie,  putting 
her  store-room  to  rights,  had  chanced  to 
discover  them,   and,   closing  them   down  in 


Making  Ginger-cakes,  187 

sudden  imprisonment,  had  sent  them  to  a  fate 
from  which  Carrie's  naughtiness  had  saved 
them. 

And  they  had  escaped  now,  every  one  of 
them,  and  were  scampering  here  and  there 
before  Carrie's  startled  eyes. 

Another  moment,  and  they  were  gone,  hid- 
den safely  away  in  nooks  and  crannies  such  as 
only  mice  could  find. 

But  they  were  out  at  large.  Here  in  this 
very  room  next  to  mamma's;  even  worse, 
Carrie  had  seen  one  run  through  the  open 
door  into  mamma's  own  bedroom  !  What  was 
she  to  do  ?  Suppose  her  mother  should  see 
him,  find  him  anywhere,  even  hear  him  scratch- 
ing and  nibbling  on  her  own  premises !  She 
had  seen  enough  of  her  mother's  nervous  ter- 
ror of  a  mouse,  strange,  even  needless  it  might 
seem  to  herself ;  but  she  knew  too  well  what 
a  torment  it  was  ;  and  now ! 

She  felt  as  though  it  was  rather  hard  that 
the  mice  should  have  escaped,  and  here  in  this 
very  place,  just  at  the  moment  when  she  had 


1 88  JVeltie's  Housekeeping. 

been  going  to  sacrifice  her  own  pleasure  to 
her  mother's  comfort,  and  to  be  "  as  good  as 
Daisy." 

Ah  !  but,  Carrie,  there  was  a  great  differ- 
ence between  you  and  Daisy.  Your  little 
sister  had  never  yielded  to  temptation,  had  put 
aside  her  own  wishes  at  once  for  the  sake  of 
her  mother's  feelings,  —  put  them  aside  as  a 
matter  of  course,  and  without  a  thought  that 
it  could  or  should  be  otherwise. 

Dear,  unselfish  little  Daisy  ! 

But  it  would  not  do  for  her  to  stand  here, 
idly  gazing  about  her.  There  were  the  other 
children  expecting  her,  perhaps  looking  for 
her;  she  heard  their  voices  even  now  in  the 
hall  below. 

Hastily  gathering  up  the  scattered  fragments 
of  paper,  tin-foil,  and  crumbs  of  chocolate  and 
barley  which  had  fallen  to  the  floor,  she  col- 
lected them  within  the  box,  put  the  cover  upon 
that,  opened  a  drawer  belonging  especially  to 
herself,  and  thrust  all  beneath  some  other 
things.     Some  other  time,  she  thought,  she 


Making  Ginger-cakes.  189 

would  throw  the  box  away ;  for  the  present  it 
was  safe  there. 

This  done,  she  ran  downstairs  and  rejoined 
her  sisters  and  brothers  and  young  friends, 
who  were  all  still  so  occupied  with  Daisy  and 
her  pathetic  sorrow  over  the  parting  from  the 
white  mice,  that  they  had  scarcely  noticed 
Carrie's  absence,  and  did  not  annoy  her  with 
the  questions  she  had  dreaded. 

But  it  was  a  miserable  afternoon  to  Carrie. 
She  felt  that  repentance  had  come  too  late, 
and  that  now  at  any  time  her  mother  might 
encounter  a  mouse.  She  was  not  sorry  when 
it  came  to  an  end,  and  Mrs.  Bradford,  return- 
ing with  Mrs.  Ransom  from  their  drive,  took 
away  her  own  little  flock  with  her ;  Frankio 
carrying  the  white  mice,  which  he  assured 
Daisy  he  was  "  only  keeping  "  for  her  till  he 
and  she  were  married,  when  lie  would  "  build 
her  a  gold  house  for  them ; "  and  that  they 
were  just  as  much  hers  if  they  did  live  in  his 
house. 

Daisy  watched  the  departure  of  her  pets  with 


igo  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

the  most  pitiful  of  little  faces,  striving  with 
all  her  might  to  smile  and  look  cheerful,  but 
failing  distressingly.  Mrs.  Ransom  hardly  un- 
derstood what  it  was  all  about  till  Mrs.  Brad- 
ford's carriage  had  gone,  the  white  mice  with 
it;  but,  when  she  did,  she  overwhelmed  her 
unselfish  little  darling  with  so  many  thanks 
and  caresses  that  Daisy  felt  repaid  for  her 
sacrifice. 

Nellie  wondered  what  it  could  be  that  made 
Carrie  continue  so  out  of  spirits  and  almost 
fretful  all  the  evening;  but,  having  been  re- 
pulsed once  or  twice  when  she  would  have 
attempted  to  give  sympathy  or  ask  questions, 
she  found  it  best  to  let  Carrie  alone,  even  when 
she  heard  her  crying  quietly  to  herself  after 
they  had  both  gone  to  rest,  and  her  sister  be- 
lieved her  to  be  asleep. 

But  when  the  next  morning  came,  and  noth- 
ing had  yet  been  seen  or  heard,  so  far  as  she 
knew,  of  the  escaped  prisoners,  Carrie's  spirits 
rose  once  more,  and  she  believed  that  she 
should  have  no  farther  trouble  from  them. 


Making  Ginger-cakes.  191 

Papa  was  expected  home  upon  the  evening 
of  this  day,  and  Nellie  was  to  be  allowed  to 
try  her  hand  upon  his  favorite  ginger-cakes. 
Nellie  had  something  of  a  turn  for  cooking, 
and  was  always  so  careful  about  rules  and 
proportions,  steady  little  woman  that  she  was, 
that  mamma  was  not  much  afraid  that  she 
would  fail,  especially  with  good-natured  Cathe- 
rine to  keep  an  eye  upon  her. 

Of  course  the  making  of  the  ginger-cakes 
was  a  very  important  business,  the  grand 
event  of  the  day  to  Nellie,  Carrie,  and  Daisy ; 
for  the  two  last  must  have  a  hand  in  them,  and 
"  help  "  Nellie  in  her  operations.  More  than 
this,  they  were  to  be  allowed  to  roll  out  some 
"  teenty  taunty "  cakes  for  their  own  eating 
and  that  of  their  dolls.  They  would  have  had 
Nellie  go  to  her  cake-making  the  first  thing  in 
the  morning,  and  leave  all  else  till  this  was 
accomplished  ;  but  that  was  not  Nellie's  way. 
"  Duty  before  pleasure "  was  generally  her 
motto ;  and  of  late  she  had  kept  it  steadily 
before  her,  and  tried   also   to   be   very  sure 


192  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

which  was  the  duty  and  which  the  pleasure, 
feeling  that  she  had  too  often  mistaken  the  one 
for  the  other. 

But  at  last  all  the  regular  small  housekeep- 
ing tasks  were  done,  and,  with  a  pleasant  con- 
sciousness of  duty  fulfilled,  Nellie  signified  to 
the  other  children  that  she  was  ready  to  begin 
her  cookery. 

Catherine  had  every  thing  ready  for  her; 
and  Nellie  with  a  long  apron  tied  about  her 
neck  and  covering  all  her  dress,  her  sleeves 
rolled  up  to  her  shoulders,  and  her  receipt- 
book  lying  open  beside  her,  was  soon  deep  in 
the  mysteries  of  mixing,  while  Carrie  stood  on 
the  other  side  of  the  table,  sifting  sugar ;  and 
Daisy,  mounted  on  a  chair  beside  Nellie,  ladled 
spoonful  after  spoonful  of  flour  into  the  stone 
bowl  wherein  Nellie  was  stirring  her  mixture. 
Nor  did  she  spill  more  than  a  quarter  of  each 
spoonful  on  the  way,  which,  on  the  whole,  is 
saying  a  good  deal. 

Daisy's  face  was  radiant,  and  her  troubles 
of  yesterday  were  for  the  time  quite  forgotten 
in  the  interest  of  her  occupation. 


Making  Ginger-cakes.  193 

"  Carrie,"  said  Nellie  presently,  trying  to  bo 
mysterious,  so  that  Daisy  might  not  know  she 
was  the  subject  of  remark,  "  Carrie,  don't  you 
think  a  certain  person  of  our  acquaintance  has 
pretty  well  recovered  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  answered  Carrie,  "  you  mean  the 
youngest  person  in  the  k-i-c-h-u-n,  don't  you  ? 
Oh !  quite  recovered." 

But  Daisy  was  too  quick  for  them,  and,  im- 
nediately  understanding  that  she  was  the  indi- 
ridual  alluded  to,  thought  herself  called  upon 
to  return  to  the  mournful  demeanor  which 
she  considered  proper  under  her  bereavement, 
and,  banishing  the  smiles  from  her  face,  she 
said,  dolefully, — 

"  You  mean  me  !  I  know  you  mean  me ; 
and  I'm  not  recoveryed  at  all,  not  one 
bit." 

"  But  I  would  if  I  were  you,"  said  Nellie. 
"  "When  we  do  a  kind  thing  for  any  one,  like 
your  giving  up  your  mice  for  mamma,  it  is 
better  not  to  let  them  see  we  feel  very  badly 
about  it.    That  is,  if  we  can  help  it;  and  I 

13 


194  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

think  you  could  feel  a  little  glad  and  happy 
now  if  you  chose :  couldn't  you  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  don't  know,  I  b'ieve  not,"  an- 
swered Daisy,  closing  her  eyes  with  in  expres- 
sion of  the  most  hopeless  resignation.  "  There 
now ! "  continued  this  unappreciated  little 
mortal,  opening  them  again,  "just  look  how 
that  old  flour  went  and  spilled  itself!  There's 
only  a  little  speck  left  in  the  spoon !  " 

"  Because  you  didn't  look  what  you  were 
doing,"  said  Nellie,  laughing;  "better  keep 
your  eyes  open,  Daisy,  when  you  are  carrying 
flour." 

"  I  fink  I  could  recovery  a  little  if  I  onlj" 
knew  what  was  in  t$iat  big  parcel,"  said  Daisy, 
taking  up  another  spoonful  of  flour,  this  time 
with  her  eyes  open. 

"  What  parcel  ?  "  asked  Carrie. 

"  That  large  parcel  that  came  home  yester 
day,"  said  Daisy.  "  It  is  for  papa,  so  mamma 
**aid  it  wasn't  right  for  me  to  peek ;  and  now 
it's  in  the  hall-close!  where  I  can't  even  see  the 
outside  of  it.     I  x&ked  mamma  if  I  couldn't 


Making  Ginger-cakes.  195 

just  open  the  closet  door  and  look  at  it,  but 
she  told  me  I'd  better  not,  'cause,  if  I  did,  it 
might  be  a  temp-ta-tion,"  repeated  Daisy  wit! 
a  justifiable  pride  in  the  long  word  and  hei 
correct  pronunciation  of  it. 

"  Yes,  I  know,"  said  Nellie,  turning  to  kiss 
the  chubby,  befloured  little  face  at  her  side. 
"  I  know,  darling ;  and  you  were  a  wise  girl 
to  keep  away ;  you've  been  very  good  yester- 
day and  to-day.  Don't  put  in  any  more  flour 
till  I  come  back.  I  am  going  into  the  store- 
room for  another  paper  of  ginger." 

"  Carrie,"  said  Daisy,  when  Nellie  had  gone, 
"  did  you  ever  have  a  temp-ta-tion  ?  " 

Carrie  did  not  like  this  question  ;  innocently 
as  her  little  sister  put  it,  it  brought  back  to 
her  too  plainly  that  yielding  to  temptation  of 
which  she  had  so  lately  been  guilty. 

"  Of  course,  child,"  she  answered  pettishly, 
"  everybody  does." 

"  Did  it  make  you  do  somefing  naughty  ?  " 
was  Daisy's  still  more  unwelcome  question. 

"  Mind  your  own  business,"  snapped  Carrie, 


196  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

"  Daisy,  I  never  did  see  a  child  who  talked  so 
much." 

Daisy  ventured  no  further  remark,  but 
stood  gravely  regarding  Carrie  with  reproving 
displeasure  till  Nellie  returned,  when  she 
turned  to  her  and  said,  — 

"  Nellie,  isn't  it  more  politer  to  say,  '  Please 
wait  and  talk  a  little  more  anofer  time,'  than 
to  say, '  Mind  your  own  business,  you  talk  too 
much ! '  " 

"  I  should  think  it  was.  0  Daisy,  what 
a  funny  child  you  are ! "  said  Nellie,  much 
amused,  and  without  the  least  suspicion  that 
Carrie  was  the  offender  in  question.  "Who 
has  been  so  rude  to  you,  darling?" 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Daisy.  "  Carrie,  I  won't 
tell  tales  'bout  you,  if  you  was  rude  to  me,  — 
oh,  so  rude !  " 

Nellie  laughed  merrily  again  over  Daisy's  fan- 
cied concealment  of  Carrie's  sins  against  her. 

"  I  don't  see  what  there  is  to  laugh  about," 
said  Carrie,  angrily.  "  You  think  Daisy  is  so 
smart." 


Making  Ginger-cakes.  197 

Nellie  was  grave  in  a  moment,  wondering,  as 
she  had  had  occasion  to  do  many  times  during 
the  last  twenty-four  hours,  what  could  make 
Carrie  so  cross  and  ready  to  take  offence. 

"  Any  more  flour,  Nellie  ?  "  asked  Daisy. 

"  No  more  now,"  answered  her  sister. 
"  Catherine,  the  receipt  don't  say  cinnamon, 
but  papa  likes  it  so  much,  I  think  I  will  put 
some  in.    It  can't  do  any  harm,  can  it  ? " 

"  Not  at  all ;  I'm  thinking  it  would  be  an  im- 
provement myself,  Miss  Nellie,"  answered  the 
cook.  "  But  then  I've  not  a  pinch  of  powdered 
cinnamon.  I  used  the  last  yesterday  for  the 
rusks." 

"  There's  some  in  the  dining-room,"  said 
Nellie.  "  Daisy,  dear,  you  can  do  that.  Go  to 
the  side-board,  open  the  right-hand  door,  and 
bring  sister  the  spice-box  you  will  see  on  the 
first  shelf.     Bring  it  very  carefully." 

"  Yes,  I  know  it,"  said  Daisy,  scrambling 
down  from  her  chair,  and  feeling  rather  im- 
portant in  her  errand.  "  Cafarine,  don't  I 
help  a  whole  lot  ? " 


198  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

"  Oh  !  a  wonderful  lot !  I  never  saw  a  dar- 
lin'  that  made  herself  so  useful ; "  and  with 
these  words  of  praise  sounding  in  her  ears, 
Daisy  went  off  happy. 

In  two  minutes  she  was  back  again,  breath- 
less, with  wide-open  eyes,  the  crimson  deepen- 
ing in  her  cheeks,  but  with  the  spice-box 
safely  in  her  clasp. 

"  Nellie  !  and  Carrie  !  and  Cafarine !  all  of 
yous  !  what  do  you  fink?"  she  cried.  "Oh! 
such  a  fing  !  " 

"  What  is  the  matter  ? "  said  all  three  at 
once. 

"A  mouse!  a  weally  mouse  in  the  dinin'- 
room.  Not  a  white  mouse,  but  a  nigger  mouse, 
—  oh !  I  forgot  again,  —  I  mean  a  colored 
person  mouse,  right  in  the  dinin'-room !  What 
will  mamma  say  ?  " 

"  Oh !  you  must  be  mistaken,  Daisy,"  said 
Nellie,  while  Carrie  heard  the  words  of  her 
youngest  sister  with  a  sinking  heart. 

"No,  I'm  not,  I'm  not,"  persisted  Daisy. 
"  It  was  just  as  weally  a  mouse  as  it  could  be. 


Makzng  Ginger-cakes.  199 

He  was  under  the  sideboard,  and  he  ran  out 
and  under  the  sofa." 

"  Oh  dear !  "  said  Nellie,  in  dismay  at  the 
news.  "  Catherine,  there  must  be  mice  in  this 
house.     A  good  many  too." 

"  Well,  no,  miss,  I  think  not,"  said  the 
cook.     "  This  is  the  first  one  "  — 

Down  went  the  bowl  into  which  Carrie  was 
sifting  her  sugar,  not  purposely,  though  she 
was  only  too  thankful  for  the  diversion  it 
afforded,  but  because  she  had  given  a  violent 
start  and  knocked  the  bowl  with  her  elbow  in 
her  alarm  at  Catherine's  words.  How  nearly 
her  secret  had  been  discovered  !  But  now  it 
was  safe  at  least  for  the  time,  for  the  bowl  was 
broken,  the  sugar  scattered  over  the  floor, 
and  it  was  some  moments  before  order  was 
restored ;  by  which  time  Nellie  was  intent 
upon  cutting  out  her  cakes,  marking  them  with 
the  "jigging  iron,"  and  laying  them  in  the 
bake-pans,  so  that  she  had  no  thought  for  mice, 
white  or  gray. 

Declaring  herself  "  tired  of  helping,"  and 


200  Nellie's  Housekeeping* 

feeling  that  her  labors  had  brought  no  very 
satisfactory  result  to  herself  or  others,  Carrie 
left  the  kitchen  and  wandered  into  the  dining- 
room,  possibly  to  see  if  she  could  spy  the 
mouse  Daisy  had  discovered.  But  no,  there 
was  no  mouse  there,  at  least  she  could  find 
none ;  and  she  began  to  hope  that,  after  all, 
the  little  one  had  been  mistaken. 

Oh  dear!  how  wretched  and  unhappy  she 
felt !  She  began  to  think  she  would  feel  better 
if  she  went  and  told  mamma,  making  honest 
confession  of  what  she  had  done,  and  begging 
her  forgiveness. 

Just  then  Daisy  came  into  the  room,  and 
began  peeping  around  in  every  corner  and 
under  each  article  of  furniture. 

"  You  needn't  be  looking  for  that  mouse, " 
said  Carrie,  "  he's  gone  ;  and,  any  way,  I  don't 
believe  there  was  any  mouse  there." 

"  There  was,  oh !  there  was,"  cried  Daisy. 
"  I  saw  him  wif  my  own  eyes  running  fast, 
fast.  But,  Carrie,  Nellie  says  we'd  better  not 
speak  about  it  'fore  mamma,  'cause  it  would 
trouble  her." 


Making  Ginger-cakes,  201 

"  I  don't  believe  it.  You  just  thought  you 
saw  him,"  persisted  Carrie. 

"  Now  you've  said  a  great  many  bad  fings 
to  me,  but  that's  the  baddest  one  of  all,  and  I 
shall  leave  you  alone  wif  your  own  se'f,"  said 
the  offended  Daisy,  and  walked  away  with  her 
head  held  high. 

Now  it  might  almost  have  been  imagined 
that  Daisy  knew  that  Carrie's  "  own  se'f" 
was  no  very  pleasant  company  just  at  this 
time,  and  that  she  wished  to  punish  her  by 
leaving  her  "alone  wif"  it;  and,  innocent  as 
she  was  of  any  such  intention,  she  certainly 
had  her  revenge. 

Carrie's  own  thoughts  were  not  agreeable 
companions ;  even  less  so  now  than  they  had 
been  before  Daisy  came  in,  for  her  half-formed 
resolution  of  telling  all  to  her  mother  seemed 
less  difficult  than  it  had  done  before  her  little 
sister  had  said  that  Nellie  thought  it  best  not 
to  speak  of  the  mouse  to  mamma.  If  mamma 
was  not  to  hear  of  one  mouse,  it  would  not  do 
to  tell  her  that  several  were  running  at  large 


202  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

about  the  house ;  and  Carrie  could  not  help 
feeling  and  believing  that  this  was  one  of  the 
escaped  captives.  Mice  could  come  downstairs, 
that  she  knew ;  for  once,  when  she  and  Nellie 
had  been  spending  the  day  with  Lily  Norris, 
they  had  seen  a  little  mouse  hopping  down  from 
stair  to  stair,  and  had  stood  motionless  and 
silent,  watching  till  he  reached  the  bottom  of 
the  flight,  when  his  quick,  bright  eyes  caught 
sight  of  them,  and  he  scampered  away  in  a 
fright. 

And  now  that  it  was  forbidden,  she  was 
seized  with  a  strong  desire  to  relieve  her  mind 
by  a  full  confession  to  mamma.  Then  at  least 
she  would  be  free  from  the  burden  of  carrying 
about  with  her  such  a  guilty  secret. 

"  Oh  dear !  oh  dear !  "  she  said  to  herself, 
Ci  whenever  I've  done  any  thing  naughty  before, 
I  could  always  go  and  tell  mamma,  and  then 
she  forgave  me,  and  I  felt  better ;  but  now  it 
seems  as  if  I  did  not  dare  to  tell  her  this.  I'd 
dare  for  myself,  even  if  she  was  very  much 
displeased  and  punished  me ;  but  I  suppose  I 
mustn't  dare  for  her.    It  is  too  hard." 


Making  Ginger-cakes.  203 

Ah,  Carrie !  so,  sooner  or  later,  we  always 
find  the  way  of  transgression  ;  and  oftentimes 
the  sharpest  thorns  in  the  road  are  those 
which  we  have  planted  with  our  own  hands, 
not  knowing  that  they  will  wound  our  feet, 
and  hold  us  back  when  we  would  retrace  our 
Bteps. 


X. 


FRESH  TROUBLES. 


HE  ginger-cakes  were  a  great  success 
It  is  true  that  one's  tongue  was  bit- 
ten, now  and  then,  by  a  lump  of 
ginger  or  other  spice,  not  quite  as  thoroughly 
mixed  in  by  Nellie's  unaccustomed  fingers  as 
it  might  have  been  by  those  which  were 
stronger  and  more  used  to  such  business  ;  but 
who  minded  such  trifles  as  that,  or  would  re- 
fuse to  give  the  little  workwoman  the  meed  of 
praise  she  so  richly  deserved  ? 

Not  her  papa  certainly,  who  found  no  fault 
whatever,  and  eat  enough  of  the  ginger-cakes' 
to  satisfy  even  his  Nellie. 


Fresh  Troubles.  205 

Not  even  Daisy,  who  met  with  such  a  mis- 
fortune as  that  spoken  of  above,  while  at  the 
tea-table,  and  who  was  perceived  first  by  Nellie 
holding  her  tongue  with  one  thumb  and  finger, 
while  in  the  other  hand  she  held  out  the  gin- 
ger-cake, regarding  it  with  a  puzzled  and  dis- 
turbed expression. 

"  What's  the  matter,  Daisy  ?  "  asked  Nellie. 

"  Somefing  stinged  my  tongue.  I  b'ieve  it 
was  a  bee,  and  I  eat  him  up,"  said  Daisy,  the 
ever  ready  tears  starting  to  her  eyes.  They 
were  excusable  under  the  circumstances  cer- 
tainly. 

"  It  has  been  a  little  bit  of  ginger,"  said 
Mrs.  Ransom,  who  had  suffered  in  a  similar 
manner,  but  in  silence.  "  Take  some  milk, 
my  darling." 

"  0  Daisy,  I'm  so  sorry !  I  suppose  I  haven't 
mixed  it  well,"  said  Nellie,  looking  horrified. 

Daisy  obeyed  her  mother's  command,  which 
brought  relief  to  her  smarting  tongue,  and 
then,  turning  to  Nellie  with  a  most  benignant 
smile,  said,  — 


206  Nellies  Housekeeping, 

"  You  needn't  mind,  Nellie.  I'd  just  as 
lieve  have  my  tongue  bited  for  your  ginger- 
cakes.  Papa,"  she  added,  turning  to  her  father, 
"  I  s'pose  you're  going  to  be  busy  after  tea, 
ar'n't  you  ?  " 

"No,  papa  has  nothing  to  do  but  to  rest 
himself  this  evening,"  answered  Mr.  Ransom. 

"  Oh  dear ! "  sighed  Daisy,  taking  her 
tongue  between  thumb  and  finger  again. 

"  Do  you  want  papa  to  be  busy  ? "  asked 
Mr.  Ransom. 

"  I  fought  you  would  be,"  said  Daisy,  who 
found  it  extremely  inconvenient  not  to  be  able 
to  pet  the  injured  member  and  to  talk  at  the 
same  moment.  "  I  s'posed  you'd  have  to 
undo  that  big  parcel  that's  in  the  hall  closet ; 
and  I  fought  my  tongue  would  feel  a  good 
deal  better  to  know  what's  inside  of  it." 

"  Oh  !  that  is  it,  is  it  ?  "  said  Mr.  Ransom. 
"  Well,  yes,  I  believe  I  have  that  little  business 
to  attend  to,  so  your  tongue  may  get  well  right 
away,  Daisy." 

Having  finished  his  tea,  Mr.  Ransom  now 


Fresh   Troubles.  207 

rose  and  went  out  into  the  hall,  returning  with 
the  groat  parcel  which  had  so  excited  the  curi- 
osity of  his  little  daughter.  This  he  put  down 
upon  the  floor  beside  his  chair,  went  out  once 
more,  and  came  back  again  with  two  smaller 
parcels.  These  he  put  upon  the  table,  and 
took  his  seat  before  all  three. 

Daisy's  excitement  hardly  knew  bounds  now, 
especially  when  there  came  from  within  one  of 
the  smaller  parcels  a  little  rustle,  as  though 
something  alive  was  inside.  Still,  her  atten- 
tion was  principally  taken  up  with  the  "  biggest 
one  of  all ;  "  and,  to  her  great  delight,  this  was 
the  first  papa  opened. 

Paper  and  string  removed,  two  bird-cages, 
empty  cages,  presented  themselves  to  the  eyes 
of  the  children.     What  could  they  be  for  ? 

"  Papa,"  said  Daisy,  "  you  couldn't  be  going 
to  catch  the  little  birdies  out  the  trees,  and 
put  them  in  there,  could  you  ? " 

"  Wait  a  moment,"  said  her  father,  taking 
up  the  parcel  whence  the  rustling  had  come. 

This,   opened,   revealed   another  bird-cage, 


208  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

this  a  tiny  wooden  one,  but  oh  I  delight !  con- 
taining two  beautiful  canaries.  They  looked 
rather  uncomfortable  and  astonished,  it  is  true, 
and  as  if  they  might  be  thoroughly  tired  of 
their  narrow  quarters,  from  which  Mr.  Ransom 
now  speedily  released  them,  putting  one  bird 
in  each  large  cage,  which  was  soon  furnished 
with  fresh  seed  and  water,  sugar,  and  all  that 
birds  love. 

"  What  little  beauties !  Who  are  they  for, 
papa  ?  "  asked  Carrie. 

"  For  little  girls  who  have  been  helpful  and 
kind  to  mamma  during  the  past  week,"  said 
Mr.  Ransom,  smiling.  "  I  sent  up  the  cages 
by  express,  but  brought  on  the  birds  myself. 
Poor  little  fellows !  they  are  glad  to  have 
reached  their  journey's  end,  I  think." 

"  But  there's  only  two,  and  there  are  fee 
girls,"  said  Daisy,  — "  one,  two,  fee  girls," 
pointing  by  turns  to  her  sisters  and  herself, 
"  and  one,  two  birds.  That's  not  enough, 
papa." 

"  Papa  thought  his  Daisy  too  young  to  have 


Fresh   Troubles,  209 

the  care  of  a  bird  yet,"  said  Mr.  Ransom,  "  but 
here  is  what  he  brought  for  her ;  for  mam- 
ma wrote  to  him  what  a  good  girl  she  was, 
and  what  pains  she  was  taking  to  cure  herself 
of  that  foolish  habit  of  crying  for  trifles." 

And,  unwrapping  the  last  parcel,  Mr.  Ran- 
som disclosed  a  box  containing  a  pretty  little 
dinner-set.  At  another  time  Daisy  would  have 
been  delighted ;  but  what  was  a  dinner-set  to  a 
bird  ? 

She  stood  looking  from  one  to  the  other 
without  the  slightest  expression  of  pleasure  or 
satisfaction  in  her  own  pretty  gift. 

"  Don't  you  like  it,  Daisy  ? "  asked  her 
father. 

"  Papa,  I  —  I  —  I  would  if  I  could,  but  — 
but  the  birdies  are  'live,  and  the  dinner-set 
is  dead ;  but  I  wouldn't  cry  about  it,  would  I, 
mamma  ? " 

With  which  she  ran  to  her  mother,   and 

buried  her  face  in  her  lap.    Poor  little  woman ! 

it  was  almost  touching  to  see  how  hard  she 

struggled  with  her  too  ready  tears,  which  had 

14 


210  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

been  so  long  accustomed  to  have  their  way 
upon  small  occasion.  There  was  no  mistaking 
the  good-will  and  resolution  with  which  she 
was  striving  to  cure  herself  of  a  rather  vexa- 
tious and  foolish  habit ;  but  it  was  such  hard 
work  as  can  only  be  imagined  by  little  girls 
who  have  been  troubled  with  a  similar  failing. 

Mamma's  praises  and  caresses  helped  her 
to  conquer  it  this  time  again,  though  it  was  a 
harder  trial  than  usual,  and  she  altogether 
declined  to  look  at  the  dinner-set,  or  to  take 
any  comfort  therein. 

"  Papa,"  said  Nellie  to  her  father  in  a  low 
tone,  as  she  and  Carrie  stood  beside  him,  their 
attention  divided  between  the  birds  and  Daisy, 
"  papa,  if  you  will  buy  Daisy  a  bird,  I  will  take 
care  of  it  for  her.  I  suppose  she  is  too  little 
to  do  it  herself ;  but  she  likes  pets  so  much, 
and  she  was  so  very  sweet  and  unselfish  about 
her  white  mice,  that  I  think  she  deserves  a 
reward." 

Mr.  Ransom  had  not  heard  the  story  of  the 
white  mice ;  but  he  now  made  inquiries  which 


Fresh  Troubles,  211 

Nellie  soon  answered,  Daisy's  sacrifice  losing 
nothing  of  its  merit  in  her  telling;  while 
Carrie,  feeling  more  and  more  uncomfortable, 
but  neither  caring  nor  daring  to  run  out  of 
hearing,  and  so  excite  questions,  stood  idly 
rubbing  her  finger  over  the  bars  of  her  bird's 
cage.  The  contrast  between  her  own  conduct 
and  that  of  her  almost  baby  sister  was  making 
itself  felt  more  and  more  to  her  own  heart  and 
conscience.  If  Daisy  deserved  a  bird  because 
she  had  been  loving  and  considerate  for  mam- 
ma, surely  she  did  not  deserve  the  same 
How  she  hoped  that  papa  would  give  Daisj 
one! 

But  no ;  papa  plainly  showed  that  he  had  n(* 
such  intention,  for  when  Nellie  concluded  with 
these  words,  — 

"  Don't  you  think  you  will  give  Daisy  a  bird 
of  her  own,  papa  ?"  he  answered,  — 

"  I  think  not  at  present,  Nellie.  I  have 
spent  as  much  as  I  can  afford  at  this  time  on 
trifles,  and  Daisy  must  wait  for  her  bird  till 
Christmas,  or  some  other  holiday.     But  she  is 


212  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

a  darling,  blessed,  little  child,  with  a  heart  full 
of  loving,  generous  feeling,  and  I  do  not  think 
the  less  of  her  sacrifice  because  I  do  not  find 
it  best  to  give  her  a  bird  just  now.  I  shall 
try  to  give  her  some  other  pleasure  which 
may  make  up  to  her  for  the  loss  of  her  white 
mice." 

But  it  did  not  seem  to  Nellie  or  Carrie,  any 
more  than  it  did  to  Daisy  herself,  that  any 
thing  could  do  this  so  well  as  a  canary-bird ; 
and,  although  they  knew  that  it  was  of  no  use 
to  try  and  persuade  papa  to  change  his  mind 
when  he  had  once  resolved  upon  a  thing,  they 
felt  as  if  they  could  hardly  let  the  matter  drop 
here. 

Daisy  had  heard  nothing  of  all  this,  for  she 
was  cuddled  up  in  her  mother's  lap  on  the 
other  side  of  the  room,  where  mamma  had 
taken  her  away  from  birds  and  dinner-set,  till 
she  should  be  petted  and  comforted  into  happi- 
ness once  more. 

And  now  papa  left  the  other  children,  and, 
going  over  to  mamma  and  Daisy,  sat  down 


Fresh   Troubles.  213 

beside  them,  and  gave  his  share  of  praise  to 
his  little  daughter,  not  only  for  the  giving  up 
of  the  white  mice,  but  also  for  that  other  mat- 
ter concerning  the  tears,  which  she  was  so 
bravely  learning  to  control,  with  the  idea  of 
"  helping  mamma." 

So  at  last  a  calm,  though  mournful  resigna 
tion  returned  to  the  bosom  of  the  little  one, 
and  she  was  farther  consoled  by  mamma  in- 
sisting upon  putting  her  to  bed  herself,  a  treat 
which  Daisy  had  not  enjoyed  since  Nellie  had 
taken  up  the  character  of  mamma's  house- 
keeper ;  for,  when  Ruth  could  not  leave  baby, 
Nellie  now  always  considered  this  a  part  of 
her  duty. 

Still  Daisy  could  not  refrain  from  saying, 
as  'her  mother  led  her  from  the  room,  — 

"  Mamma,  I  fink  I  never  heard  of  a  little 
girl  who  had  so  many  sorry s  as  me ;  did 
you?" 

When  Mrs.  Ransom  came  downstairs,  how- 
ever, she  reported  Daisy  as  restored  to  a  more 
cheerful  frame  of  spirits,  and  as  singing  herself 


214  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

to  sleep  with  her  own  version  of  the  popular 
melody  of  "  One  little,  two  little,  three  little 
nigger  boys,"  —  namely, "  One  little,  two  little, 
fee  little  colored,  person  boys  ;  "  so  careful  was 
she  in  all  things  to  heed  mamma's  wishes,  and 
not  at  all  disturbed  by  the  fact  that  the  words 
of  her  rhyme  did  not  exactly  fit  the  tune.  It 
was  all  the  same  to  Daisy.  Rules  of  music 
and  measure  were  nothing  to  her,  so  loug  as 
her  conscience  was  a.t  rest. 

The  family  had  all  gone  out  upon  the  piazza. 
The  father  and  mother  sat  a  little  apart,  talk- 
ing; the  boys  were  amusing  themselves  with 
old  Rover  upon  the  lower  step ;  while  Nellie 
and  Carrie  were  seated  above  at  the  head  of 
the  flight. 

"  What  makes  you  so  quiet,  Carrie  ?  "  asked 
Nellie. 

"  I  don't  know,"  answered  Carrie,  though 
she  said  "  don't  know  "  more  from  that  way 
we  all  have  of  saying  it  at  times  when  we  are 
not  prepared  with  an  answer,  than  from  an 
intention  to  speak  an  untruth.     Then,  after 


Fresh  Troubles,  215 

another  silence  of  a  moment  or  two,  she  spoke 
again,  — 

"  Nellie,  why  won't  you  make  one  of  those 
brackets  for  mamma  ?  "  / 

"  For  the  reason  I  told  you.  Because  I  don't 
think  I  shall  have  time.  I  think  I'd  better 
take  my  money  to  buy  her  some  other  Christ- 
mas present  all  ready  made.  Mamma  will 
like  it  just  as  well  if  she  sees  I  try  to  help  and 
please  her  in  the  mean  time,"  said  sensible 
Nellie. 

"  But  you  could  give  her  something  a  great 
deal  prettier  if  you  made  it  yourself,"  said 
Carrie. 

"  I  know  it,"  answered  Nellie,  quietly ;  "  but 
I  cannot  do  it,  and  have  any  play-time,  and 
mamma  says  she  does  not  wish  me  to  be  busy 
all  the  time." 

"  Pshaw ! "  said  Carrie,  whose  mind  was 
quite  set  upon  the  pair  of  brackets  to  be 
worked  by  herself  and  her  sister,  "  your  house- 
keeping don't  take  you  so  long,  and  you  never 
study  so  very  much  now,  so  you  have  a  good 


216  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

deal  of  time,  and  I  should  think  you  might  be 
willing  to  use  some  of  it  to  make  a  pretty 
thing  for  mamma.  You  think  yourself  so  great 
with  the  housekeeping." 

"  I  have  some  other  work  I  want  to  do," 
said  Nellie.  "  I  would  do  it  if  I  could,  but  I 
cannot,  Carrie." 

"That's  real  selfish,"  said  Carrie.  "  You'd 
rather  do  something  for  yourself  than  please 
mamma." 

Nellie  made  no  answer.  If  our  quiet,  gentle 
"  little  sunbeam"  could  not  disperse  the  clouds 
of  Carrie's  ill-temper,  she  would  at  least  not 
make  them  darker  and  heavier  by  an  angry 
retort  or  provoking  sneer.  Carrie  was  very 
unjust  and  unreasonable,  it  was  true ;  but 
Nellie  knew  that  she  would  feel  ashamed  and 
sorry  far  sooner,  if  she  were  let  alone,  than  she 
would  if  she  were  answered  back.  And  Nellie 
felt  that  it  was  not  so  long  since  she  herself 
had  been  "  cross  "  and  fretful  at  trifles.  She 
believed,  too,  that  "  something  ailed  Carrie," 
making  her  unusually  captious  and  irritable  at 


Fresh   Troubles  217 

this  time.  It  was  not  over-study  certainly: 
Carrie  was  not  likely  to  be  at  fault  in  that ; 
but  Nellie  could  not  help  thinking  either  that 
she  was  not  well,  or  that  some  trouble  was  on 
her  mind.  What  that  was,  of  course,  she  had 
not  the  slightest  suspicion. 

"  After  all,  Nellie  don't  think  so  very  much 
about  pleasing  mamma,"  said  Carrie  to  herself, 
with  rather  a  feeling  of  satisfaction  in  the 
thought. 

It  was  not  pleasant  to  feel  that,  while  both 
her  sisters  were  trying  so  hard  to  be  useful 
and  good  to  mamma,  that  she  alone  had  done 
that  which  was  likely  to  bring  annoyance  and 
trouble  upon  her. 

There  is  an  old  adage  that  "  misery  loves 
company."  I  am  not  so  sure  about  that,  for 
I  do  not  see  what  comfort  there  can  be  in 
knowing  that  others  are  unhappy ;  but  I  fear 
that  sin  often  "  loves  company,"  and  that  there 
is  a  certain  satisfaction  in  being  able  to  feel 
that  some  other  person  is  as  naughty  as  our- 
selves. Then  we  need  not  draw  comparisons 
to  our  own  disadvantage. 


218  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

Such  was  Carrie's  state  of  mind  just  now ; 
and  there  is  no  denying  that  she  was  somewhat 
pleased  to  believe  that  Nellie  was  seeking  her 
own  happiness  rather  than  mamma's. 

But  still  she  did  not  feel  that  she  could  so 
easily  give  up  the  idea  of  the  pair  of  brackets. 
To  make  mamma  such  a  grand  present  as  that 
seemed  in  some  sort  a  kind  of  amends  for  her 
past  undutifulness,  and  she  could  not  bear 
that  she  and  Nellie  should  fall  behind  Maggie 
and  Bessie  in  a  Christmas  present  to  their 
mother. 

So  she  went  on  to  urge  Nellie  farther,  but  ir 
a  pleasanter  tone. 

"  I  think  it  would  be  perfectly  splendid  to 
give  mamma  such  a  lovely  present,"  she  said, 
"  and  it  would  be  so  nice  to  tell  all  the  girls  in 
school  that  we  are  going  to  do  it.  Don't  you 
think  it  would  ?  " 

"  I  don't  care  about  telling  the  girls," 
answered  Nellie,  "  but  I  would  be  very  glad  to 
make  such  a  lovely  thing  for  mamma." 

"  And  you  will  do  it  then  ?  " 


Fresh  Troubles.  219 

"  No,"  said  Nellie,  reluctantly,  but  decidedly : 
"  I  tell  you  I  cannot,  Carrie.  I  have  something 
else  to  do,  and  I  know  mamma  would  not  wish 
me  to  take  any  more  work.  Don't  ask  me  any 
more." 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  ? "  asked 
Carrie. 

"I'll  tell  you  another  time,"  said  Nellie, 
lowering  her  voice  still  more.  "  I  don't  want 
mamma  to  hear.     Please  don't  talk  about  it." 

Carrie  pouted  again,  and,  to  one  or  two  pro- 
posals from  Nellie  that  they  should  amuse 
themselves  with  some  game,  returned  short 
and  sullen  refusals.  Presently  she  rose,  and, 
going  to  her  father  and  mother,  bade  them 
good-night." 

"What!  so  early,  dear?"  said  her  mother 
in  surprise,  for  it  was  something  very  unusual 
for  Carrie  to  wish  to  go  to  rest  before  her  ordi- 
nary bed-time. 

"  Yes'm,"  said  Carrie :  "  I've  nothing  to  do, 
and  it's  so  stupid ;  and  Nellie's  cross  and  won't 
talk  to  me." 


220  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

(   0  Carrie,  Carrie  ! 

"  I  am  afraid  it  is  Carrie  who  is  a  little 
cross  and  fretful,"  said  Mrs.  Ransom,  who 
had  noticed  that  this  had  been  Carrie's  con- 
dition all  day.  "  Well,  perhaps  bed  is  the  best 
place  for  you.  Try  to  sleep  it  off,  and  be 
pleasant  and  good-natured  in  the  morning." 

"  Everybody  seems  to  think  Nellie  and 
Daisy  are  quite  perfect,"  murmured  Carrie  to 
herself,  as  she  sauntered  slowly  through  the 
hall  and  up  the  stairs.  "No  one  ever  says 
they  do  any  thing  wrong;  but  always  say  1 
am  cross,  and  every  thing  else  that  is  horrid. 
I've  a  good  mind  —  I  mean  I'd  just  like  to  go 
'way  far  off  in  a  steamboat  or  the  cars  or  some- 
thing, and  stay  for  a  great  many  years,  and 
then  how  sorry  they'd  be  when  they'd  lost  me, 
and  didn't  know  where  I  was.  .  They'd  be  glad 
enough  when  I  came  back ;  and  wouldn't  they 
wish  they'd  never  been  cross  to  me  1 " 

Drawing  such  solace  as  she  could  from 
thoughts  like  these,  after  the  manner  of  too 
many   little   children  when   they  have   been 


Fresh   Troubles.  221 

cross  and  discontented,  and  brought  trouble 
upon  themselves,  she  went  on  to  the  nursery. 

"  I  want  my  clothes  unfastened,"  she  said 
imperiously  to  Ruth,  who  held  the  ever-wake- 
ful baby  across  her  knees,  having  just  suc- 
ceeded in  hushing  it  to  sleep. 

Ruth  would  probably  at  another  time  have 
declined  the  service  demanded  from  her,  until 
Carrie  spoke  in  a  more  civil  way ;  but  now 
she  preferred  submission  to  having  the  baby 
roused,  which  would  be  the  probable  result  of 
any  contention  between  Carrie  and  herself. 
So  she  did  as  she  was  ordered  without  answer 
ing,  and  thereby  secured  the  quiet  she  desired. 
At  least  so  she  thought,  as  Carrie  stood  per- 
fectly silent  till  the  task  was  nearly  completed. 
But  Ruth  had  reckoned  without  her  host. 

Carrie  had  fully  expected  that  Ruth  would 
reprove  her  for  her  disagreeable  way  of  speak- 
ing, perhaps  even  refuse  to  do  what  she 
wanted ;  and  she  felt  ashamed  and  rather  sub- 
dued as  she  stood  quietly  before  the  nurse 
while  she  unfastened  sash,  buttons,  and  strings. 


222  Nellie's  Housekeeping* 

She  had  resolved  that  she  would  give  no  more 
trouble  to-night,  would  not  make  any  noise 
that  could  disturb  baby,  and  was  even  trying 
to  make  up  her  mind  to  tell  Ruth  she  was 
sorry  that  she  had  been  so  troublesome  and 
rebellious  all  day,  when  she  saw  —  what  ? 

There,  secure  in  the  silence  of  the  quiet 
nursery,  was  a  little  mouse  darting  here  and 
there,  seeking,  probably,  for  what  he  might 
find  in  the  shape  of  food. 

Carrie  gave  a  start,  a  start  as  violent  as 
though  she  herself  had  been  afraid  of  the  harm- 
less little  animals  her  mother  held  in  such 
nervous  dread,  causing  Ruth  to  start  also  in 
involuntary  sympathy,  and  thus  waking  the 
baby  upon  her  lap. 

Ruth  scolded  Carrie,  of  course:  she  was 
more  apt  to  blame  her  than  she  was  either  of 
the  other  children,  and  to  believe  that  she  did 
a  vexatious  thing  "  on  purpose."  Probably 
this  was  Carrie's  own  fault,  because  she  really 
gave  more  trouble  than  her  sisters ;  but  it  was 
none  the  pleasanter,  and  perhaps  there  was 


Fresh   Troubles.  223 

some  truth  in  her  oft  repeated  complaint  that 
she  had  "  a  hard  time  in  the  nursery." 

Be  that  as  it  may,  Ruth's  harsh  words  were 
the  last  drop  in  Carrie's  brimming  cup ;  and, 
wrenching  herself  out  of  the  nurse's  hands,  she 
declared  she  would  finish  undressing  herself, 
and  ran  away  to  her  own  room. 


XI. 


A  NIGHT  OF  IT. 


CARCELY  was  she  there  when  she  re- 
pented that  she  had  come,  until  she 
found  out  what  became  of  the  mouse ; 
but  she  was  too  much  offended  with  Ruth  to 
go  back,  and  with  some  difficulty  succeeded  in 
taking  off  the  rest  of  her  clothes  without  help, 
tears  slowly  dropping  from  her  eyes  the  while. 
Poor  Carrie !  how  miserable  she  did  feel ; 
and  to  her  troubled  little  mind  there  was  no 
way  out  of  her  difficulties. 

She  would  have  confessed  all,  if  there  had 
seemed  to  be  any  one  to  confess  to ;  but,  re- 
membering Nellie's  charge  to  Daisy  and  her- 


A  Night  of  it.  225 

self  that  morning,  it  did  not  seem  wise  or 
right  to  tell  mamma  that  there  were  mice  in 
the  house  when  she  might  possibly  escape  the 
"knowledge  ;  she  was  afraid  to  tell  her  father, 
for  all  Mr.  Ransom's  children  stood  a  good 
deal  in  awe  of  him ;  and  she  did  not  feel  as  if 
there  would  be  much  satisfaction  or  relief  in 
telling  Nellie.  Nellie  could  not  know  how  to 
advise  her  or  tell  her  what  to  do.  And  yet  — 
perhaps  she  could.  Nellie  was  such  a  wise, 
thoughtful,  well-judging  little  girl. 

Perhaps  Carrie  would  not  have  put  her 
thoughts  into  just  such  words ;  but  this  was  the 
feeling  in  her  heart  at  this  moment,  and  it  was 
no  more  than  justice  to  Nellie.  She  knew  she 
could  depend  on  Nellie's  sympathy,  however 
much  shocked  her  sister  might  be  at  her 
naughtiness,  and  she  half  believed  that  she 
could  help  her.  How  she  wished  now  that  she 
had  not  been  so  pettish  and  disagreeable  to 
her ! 

"  Nellie  wasn't  cross  at  all,  it  was  old  me 
that  was  cross  and  hateful  and  horrid ;  and  I 
15 


226  JVeltie's  Housekeeping, 

have  been  ever  since  I  took  the  mice,"  she 
said  to  herself,  the  tears  rolling  over  her 
cheeks.  "  I  wish  she'd  come  up,  and  I'd  tell 
her  I'm  sorry ;  and  if  she  asks  me  what's  the 
matter,  I  b'lieve  I've  a  good  mind  to  tell  her. 
Oh  dear !  I  wish  I'd  never  seen  those  mice. 
S'pose  that  one  should  run  out  of  the  nursery 
into  mamma's  room.  I  wish  the  door  was 
shut  between  her  room  and  the  nursery." 

Then  when  she  knelt  down  to  say  her  prayers, 
and  came  to  the  words  of  our  Lord's  Prayer, 
"  Lead  us  not  into  temptation,"  she  remembered 
how  Daisy  had  asked  her  what  she  would  do 
if  she  "  had  a  temptation ;  "  and  she  buried  her 
face  in  the  bed-clothes  as  if  she  wished  to  shut 
out  the  remorseful  recollection  of  how  she  had 
acted  yesterday  in  that  moment  of  temptation  ; 
and  more  and  more  bitter  became  her  self- 
reproaches  as  she  thought  how  sweetly  Daisy 
had  acted  in  the  matter  of  the  white  mice. 
Yes :  Daisy  had  shown  true  love  and  tender- 
ness for  her  mother ;  but  how  far  had  she  been 
from  doing  the  same  ? 


A  Night  of  it,  227 

Perhaps  never  in  all  her  little  life  had  Carrie 
sent  heavenward  as  true  and  sincere  a  prayer 
as  that  she  added  to-night  to  her  usual  peti- 
tions :  "  And  lead  me  out  of  this  temptation, 
and  show  me  what  to  do,  0  God !  " 

Then  when  she  was,  with  considerable 
trouble  to  herself,  all  ready  for  bed,  she 
lay  down,  but  not  without  another  anxious 
glance  at  the  door  between  her  mother's  room 
and  the  nursery.  If  she  could  but  have  that 
door  closed ! 

Having  soothed  the  baby  to  sleep  once  more, 
Ruth  brought  her  into  her  mother's  room,  and 
put  her  into  the  cradle.  This  done,  she  passed 
on  into  Carrie's  room  to  see  that  all  was  right 
there,  and  the  little  girl  safely  in  bed.  She 
did  not  speak,  —  perhaps  she  thought  Carrie 
was  already  asleep,  —  but  moved  quietly 
around,  picking  up  the  articles  of  dress  which 
her  little  charge  had  left  strewn  about,  arrang- 
ing the  windows  and  doors  properly,  and  turn- 
ing down  the  light. 

Then  she  went  away. 


228  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

And  now  to  have  the  door  closed  between 
her  mother's  room  and  the  closet  which  led  into 
the  nursery  became  the  great  desire  of  Carrie's 
mind  as  she  lay  in  her  little  bed,  —  closed  so 
that  the  mouse  should  not  find  its  way  through. 

She  did  not  dream  that  mousie  had  done 
that  already,  and  hoped  to  be  able  to  close  the 
door  this  way  without  attracting  Ruth's  atten 
tion.  Slipping  from  her  bed,  she  went  softly, 
so  that  Ruth  might  not  hear  her,  over  her  own 
floor,  and  through  her  mother's  room  to  the 
closet  door,  and  stretching  out  her  hand  was 
about  to  push  it  to,  when  Ruth  caught  sight  of 
her  through  the  closet  door. 

"  What's  the  matter,  child  ?  What  do  you 
want  ? "  she  asked  in  much  surprise,  coming 
forward. 

"  I  want  this  door  shut,  and  I'm  going  to 
have  it,  too,"  said  Carrie,  preparing  for  battle 
at  once,  for  she  saw  that  Ruth  would  object. 

"Well,  what  whim  has  taken  you  now?" 
said  Ruth,  pushing  back  the  door.  "  Indeed, 
and  you  can't  have  it  shut  till  your  mother 


A  Night  of  it.  229 

comes  up.  How  would  I  hear  the  'baby  if  it 
cries  ? " 

Carrie  persisted  in  her  purpose.  Ruth 
would  have  been  firm,  but  finding  the  child 
would  not  yield,  and  fearing  to  wake  the  baby 
once  more  if  an  uproar  were  raised,  she  let  her 
take  her  way,  and  immediately  went  down 
with  a  complaint  to  Mrs.  Ransom. 

Papa  heard  as  well  as  mamma,  and  took  the 
matter  into  his  own  hands ;  and  scarcely  had 
Carrie  climbed  into  bed  again,  glorying,  partly 
in  having  attained  her  purpose,  partly  in  the 
supposed  victory  over  Ruth,  when  papa  ap- 
peared, and,  with  a  few  stern  words  to  the  wil- 
ful little  girl,  set  it  open  again,  forbidding  her 
to  touch  it,  and  leaving  her  in  a  more  unhappy 
state  of  mind  than  ever. 

She  lay  there  and  cried  till  Nellie  came  up ; 
Johnny  accompanying  her,  and  each  carrying 
a  bird.  No  hooks  were  in  readiness  for  hang- 
ing the  cages ;  and  it  was  decided  that,  for 
to-night,  they  should  be  placed  upon  chairs, 
Nellie's  bird  by  her  side  of  the  bed,  Carrie's 
by  hers. 


230  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

Carrie,  whose  heart  and  conscience  were  so 
uneasy,  was  very  wakeful ;  and,  long  after 
Nellie  was  asleep,  she  lay  tossing  restlessly 
from  side  to  side.  Even  after  mamma  came 
up  to  her  room,  she  could  not  go  to  sleep  for  a 
long  while. 

In  the  night,  far  into  the  night  it  seemed  to 
her  that  it  must  be,  she  was  wakened  by  a 
sound  at  her  side,  —  a  rustling,  scratching 
sound. 

What  could  it  be  ?  Carrie  was  not  so  foolish 
as  to  be  afraid  of  the  dark,  indeed  she  was 
rather  a  brave  child ;  but  now  she  felt  as  if  she 
would  have  given  any  thing  to  have  had  a 
light  in  the  room,  to  see  what  made  that 
strange  sound. 

She  bore  it  as  long  as  she  could,  then  woke 
(Nellie.  _ 

"What  can  it  be,  Nellie  ?  "  she  whispered, 
as  Nellie  listened. 

"  I  don't  know :  I'm  afraid  there's  somebody 
here,"  said  Nellie,  in  the  same  tone,  but  very 
much  alarmed. 


A  Night  of  it.  231 

"  What  shall  we  do  ?  "  said  Carrie,  clinging 
to  her  sister. 

" < Thou  shalt  not  steal,'  <  Thou  God  seest 
me,'  '  The  way  of  transgressors  is  hard,'  if 
you  are  a  robber,"  said  Nellie,  raising  her 
voice  as  she  addressed  the  supposed  intruder 
with  all  the  Scripture  texts  she  could  muster 
for  the  occasion,  and  which  might  be  imag- 
ined to  influence  him. 

No  answer,  but  the  rustling  ceased  for  a 
moment,  then  began  again ;  and  it  was  more 
than  the  children  could  bear. 

"  Papa  !  papa  !  "  shrieked  Nellie,  "  there's 
some  one  in  our  room  !  Please  come,  do  come, 
papa !  "  And  Carrie  joined  her  cries  to  her 
sister's. 

Papa  heard,  and  came  ;  and  so  did  mamma, 
very  much  startled. 

"  There's  a  noise,  a  robber,  here,  by  my 
bed !  "  exclaimed  Carrie  all  in  a  flutter,  though 
the  noise  had  again  ceased.  Papa  struck  a 
light,  there  was  a  faint  rustle,  a  sound  of  some 
small  body,  jumping  or  falling  from  a  height, 
and  Mr.  Ransom  exclaimed,  — 


232  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

"  A  mouse !  Nothing  but  a  mouse  in  the 
bird's  cage ! " 

If  there  had  been  a  veritable  robber  there, 
doubtless  Mrs.  Ransom  would  have  stayed  to 
confront  him,  and  defend  her  children ;  but  at 
the  sound  of  "  a  mouse,"  a  harmless  little 
mouse,  she  turned  about,  and  ran  back  to  her 
own  room,  closing  the  door  in  no  small  haste. 
If  the  children  had  not  felt  too  much  sympathy 
for  her,  they  could  have  laughed  to  see  how 
she  rushed  away. 

But  Carrie  did  not  feel  like  laughing,  you 
may  be  sure,  relieved  though  she  might  have 
been  to  find  that  it  was  nothing  worse  than 
a  mouse  that  had  caused  her  own  and  Ne'Jie's 
alarm.  I  do  not  know  but  that  she  would 
almost  have  preferred  the  "  robber,"  or  some 
wild  monster,  now  that  papa  was  there  to 
defend  them,  to  the  pretty,  innocent  little 
creature  which  had  been  the  real  cause  of  the 
disturbance. 

Mr.  Ransom  hunted  about  for  the  mouse, 
but  all  in  vain :  he  had  hidden  himself  some* 


A  Night  of  it.  22Z 

where  quite  safely  and  was  not  to  be  found. 
The  bird-cages  were  put  upon  the  mantel-piece 
where  he  could  not  reach  them  again,  for 
mousie  had  found  the  bird-seed  an  excel- 
lent supper,  and  Mr.  Ransom  thought  he 
might  return  to  his  repast. 

Return  he  did  in  search  of  it,  as  soon  as 
papa  had  gone  and  the  room  was  quiet  once 
more  ;  but  this  time  the  children  knew  what  it 
was,  and  although,  when  he  found  his  supper 
placed  beyond  his  reach,  he  made  considerable 
disturbance,  they  were  not  frightened.  But 
they  found  it  impossible  to  sleep,  such  a  noise 
did  he  make,  tearing  about  over  the  straw 
matting  which  covered  the  floor,  nibbling  now 
at  this,  now  at  that,  and  altogether  making 
himself  as  much  of  a  nuisance  as  only  a  mouse 
in  one's  bed-room  at  night  can  do. 

At  last  he  was  quiet,  and  the  two  weary 
children  were  just  sinking  off  to  sleep,  when 
Nellie  started  up  with, — 

"  Carrie !  I  do  believe  that  mouse  is  in  the 
bed ! " 


234  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

This  was  too  much,  not  to  be  borne  by  any 
one,  however  much  they  might  like  mice ;  and 
both  Nellie  and  Carrie  were  speedily  out  of 
bed,  the  former  hastily  turning  up  the  light 
which  papa  had  left  burning  for  their  comfort. 

Carrie  was  about  to  run  to  the  door  and 
call  papa  to  come,  but  Nellie  stopped  her. 

"  Don't,  Carrie,"  she  said :  "  it  will  just 
frighten  mamma  again.  Let's  see  if  we  can't 
find  him.  I'm  not  afraid  of  him,  are  you? 
Only,  I  don't  like  to  have  him  in  the  bed." 

Rather  enjoying  the  fun,  Nellie  pulled  off 
the  covers  and  pillows,  and  even,  exerting  all 
her  little  strength,  contrived  to  turn  up  one 
end  of  the  mattress ;  but  this,  even  with 
Carrie's  help,  she  found  hard  work,  and,  noth- 
ing being  discovered  of  the  little  nuisance, 
they  were  content  to  believe  that  Nellie  had 
been  mistaken,  to  put  on  the  bed-clothes  as 
well  as  they  could,  and  lie  down  again. 

But  Carrie  did  not  enjoy  all  this,  if  Nellie 
did.  At  another  time  she,  too,  might  have 
thought  that  it  was  "  fun  "  to  have  such  a  good 


A  Night  of  it.  235 

and  sufficient  excuse  for  being  up  and  busy 
when  the  clock  was  striking  —  could  it  be  ?  — 
yes,  it  was  twelve  o'clock,  midnight !  and  she 
and  Nellie  frisking  there  about  the  room,  as 
wide  awake  as  if  it  were  noon. 

But  there  was  a  weight  on  Carrie's  mind, 
she  felt  too  guilty  to  enjoy  the  novelty,  and 
she  was  almost  vexed  at  Nellie's  glee  over  it. 
Oh  dear !  how  she  did  wish  that  she  had  never 
seen  the  mice,  that  "  such  things  as  mice  had 
never  been  made." 

And  when  at  last  she  fell  into  a  troubled 
slumber,  for  they  heard  nothing  more  of 
mousie,  it  was  not  the  calm,  peaceful  sleep  of 
her  sister  who  lay  beside  her,  but  filled  with 
uncomfortable  dreams,  and  many  a  start  and 
moan. 


XII. 


AN  ALARM. 


OR  did  she  feel  lighter-hearted  in  the 
morning,  especially  when  Nellie  be- 
gan to  lament  the  too  plain  fact 
that  there  must  be  a  good  many  mice  in  the 
house,  and  that  they  seemed  to  have  come  so 
suddenly.  First  discovered  but  two  days  ago 
in  the  store-room,  and  never  seen  or  heard 
before  since  the  family  had  occupied  this  house, 
they  now  appeared  to  be  running  wild,  all  over. 
It  was  very  singular,  certainly. 

So  thought  Nellie,  adding  that  mamma 
would  now  "  have  no  peace  of  her  life,"  so 
long  as  the  mice  were  free,  and  she  should 


An  Alarm,  237 

ask  papa  to  buy  a  lot  of  mouse-traps  and  set 
them  in  every  room. 

Carrie  knew  only  too  well  how  this  had 
come  about;  but  now  that  mamma  did  know 
that  there  were  mice  in  the  house,  she  did  not 
feel  as  if  she  could  confess  that  it  was  through 
her  fault  that  they  had  been  brought  upstairs. 
It  seemed  so  horribly  unkind,  such  a  dreadful 
thing  to  have  done  to  mamma  now. 

So,  although  she  was  not  cross  and  fretful 
as  she  had  been  last  night,  she  went  about 
listlessly,  and  with  a  subdued  and  melancholy 
manner  that  was  worthy  of  Daisy  herself  when 
she  was  at  the  very  lowest  depths  of  despond- 
ency, but  with  far  better  reason  than  Daisy 
usually  had. 

Even  when  Ruth,  who  felt  a  little  grudge 
against  her  for  her  naughty  conduct  of  the 
last  few  days,  snubbed  her  and  pulled  her 
about  rather  more  than  was  necessary  when 
she  was  dressing  her,  Carrie  bore  it  meekly, 
not  having  spirit  to  answer  back,  and  so  soften- 
ing the  nurse  by  her  silent  submission  that 


238  JVelh'e's  Housekeeping. 

she  gave  her  a  kindly  pat  on  the  shoulder,  say- 
ing that  she  saw  she  was  "  tired  of  being 
naughty  and  was  going  to  be  good  to-day." 
Which  small  encouragement  Carrie  received 
as  she  left  the  nursery  with  as  great  a  want  of 
interest  or  animation  as  she  had  shown  for 
every  thing  that  morning ;  and  Ruth,  shaking 
her  head,  privately  confided  to  baby  her  opinion 
that  that  child  was  "  going  to  be  sick,  or  she 
never  in  the  world  would  be  so  good." 

When  Mr.  Ransom  came  down  to  breakfast, 
he  said  that  Mamma  would  not  be  down  right 
away  ;  but  sent  word  that  Nellie  might  "  pour 
out "  for  her  this  morning.  She  had  had  a 
restless,  wakeful  night,  having  been  made  ner- 
vous and  uncomfortable  by  the  knowledge  that 
a  mouse  was  around,  and  could  not  compose 
herself  to  sleep  after  the  little  excitement  in 
the  children's  room. 

Were  Carrie's  troubles  never  coming  to  an 
end  ? 

"  Pouring  out "  was  not  new  to  Nellie,  for 
she  had  made  tea  and  coffee  for  her  father  and 


An  Alarm.  239 

brothers  many  a  morning  before  when  mamma 
was  not  well  enough  to  come  downstairs  ;  but 
still  it  was  an  important  business,  and  one  to 
which  she  felt  obliged  to  bend  every  energy, 
till  all  were  served  according  to  their  liking. 
Then  she  felt  at  leisure  for  conversation,  and 
for  observing  what  was  going  on  about  the 
table. 

"  Are  you  not  going  to  eat  your  breakfast, 
Carrie  ?  "  she  asked,  seeing  that  her  sister  sat 
idly  playing  with  her  spoon,  as  if  she  had  no 
appetite. 

"  I'm  not  hungry,"  answered  Carrie,  not 
altogether  pleased  at  having  notice  drawn 
upon  her. 

"  Did  the  mouse  frighten  your  appetite 
away,  Carrie  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Ransom,  looking 
at  her. 

"  No,  papa,  —  I  —  I  think  not.  I'm  not 
afraid  of  mice,"  said  Carrie. 

"  But  he  frightened  us  very  much  before  we 
knew  what  it  was,"  said  Nellie ;  "  and  after 
wards  we  thought  he  was  in  the  bed,  papa." 


240  JVelk'e's  Housekeeping. 

"  What  was  it  ?  Tell  us  all  about  it,"  said 
Johnny.  "  A  mouse  !  Won't  mamma  be  in 
a  taking,  though  ?  " 

"  Poor  mamma  !  "  said  Nellie  ;  and  then  she 
related  the  whole  story,  seeming  to  think  her 
own  experience  and  Carrie's  rather  a  good 
joke,  though  she  was  sadly  troubled  about 
mamma's  nervousness  over  the  matter. 

"  That's  worse  than  white  mice,"  said  Daisy, 
who  had  listened  with  wide  open  eyes,  in  such 
intense  interest  that  she  quite  forgot  to  eat 
her  breakfast. 

"  But  that's  awful  for  mamma,"  said  Bob. 
"  What  will  she  do  ?  " 

"It  is  a  great  pity,"  said  Mr.  Ransom. 
"  I  had  hoped  mamma  would  not  be  troubled 
in  that  way." 

"They  seem  to  be  appearing  all  over  the 
house  at  once,"  said  Nellie,  "  and  only  since 
day  before  yesterday  when  I  found  the  first  in 
the  store-room." 

"  Did  you  find  one  in  the  store-room  too  ? " 
asked  Johnny. 


An  Alarm,  241 

"  Ever  so  many  in  a  box ;  but  Catherine 
killed  them,"  said  Nellie,  never  doubting,  of 
course,  that  she  was  stating  the  truth. 

Carrie  raised  her  downcast  eyes  in  terror ; 
but,  to  her  relief,  the  servant  in  waiting  had 
left  the  breakfast-room  for  one  moment,  and 
there  was  no  contradiction  of  Nellie's  words. 

"  Why,  Cad  ?  "  said  Johnny,  "  what  ails 
you?  you  seem  to  take  the  mouse  almost  as 
hard  as  mamma  would.  You  needn't  be  afraid 
for  your  bird,  if  that's  it ;  for  he  was  only  after 
the  seed." 

Mr.  Ransom  looked  at  Carrie  again. 

"  Don't  be  troubled,  little  daughter,"  he 
said.  "Johnny  is  right:  the  mice  will  not 
hurt  your  birds.  But  you  are  quite  upset  with 
being  so  disturbed  last  night,  are  you  not? 
Come  here  to  papa." 

Dreading  questions  which  she  would  not 
care  to  answer,  and  wishing  that  she  could 
creep  under  the  table,  run  out  of  the  room,  or 
hide  herself  anywhere,  Carrie  was  about  to 
obey ;  but,  before  she  could  rise  from  her  chair, 

16 


242  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

there  was  heard  a  commotion  overhead,  a 
smothered  scream  in  Mrs.  Ransom's  voice,  a 
running  and  scuffling,  and  then  Ruth  calling 
to  her  master  to  "  come  quick." 

Mr.  Ransom  sprang  from  his  chair,  and 
rushed  upstairs,  followed  by  every  one  of  his 
boys  and  girls,  fearing  they  knew  not  what, 
save  that  something  dreadful  had  happened. 

Something  dreadful,  indeed,  all  the  children 
thought,  when,  running  into  mamma's  room, 
she  was  seen,  pale,  with  closed  eyes  and  quite 
senseless,  lying  back  in  the  arms  of  Ruth  ; 
while  the  baby,  resenting  being  placed  sud- 
denly face  downwards  upon  the  bed,  was 
shrieking  with  all  its  little  might. 

The  younger  children,  not  unnaturally, 
thought  that  she  was  dead,  and  were  terrified 
half  out  of  their  senses ;  but  Nellie  had  seen 
mamma  in  a  fainting  fit  before,  and,  though 
frightened,  knew  that  she  would  be  better  by 
and  by.  So  she  gave  the  best  help  she  could 
by  taking  up  the  screaming  baby  and  hushing 
its  cries,   and   encouraging  her   sisters  —  al« 


An  Alarm.  243 

though  her  own  lips  were  trembling  and  eyes 
filling  with  tears  —  with  hopeful  words. 

"  What  happened  ?  What  caused  this  ?  " 
asked  Mr.  Ransom,  when  he  had  laid  his  wife 
upon  the  couch,  and  was  engaged  with  the 
assistance  of  the  servant  women  in  restoring 
her. 

"  Indeed,  sir,  and  it  was  just  a  mouse,  nasty 
thing !  "  said  Ruth.  "  I  came  in  with  the  baby 
to  ask  Mrs.  Ransom  for  some  ribbon  for  its 
sleeves,  and  she  went  to  the  bureau  drawer  for 
them,  and  as  she  opened  it  what  did  a  mouse 
do  but  jump  right  out  on  her.  'Twas  enough 
to  scare  a  body  that  wasn't  afraid  of  mice  ;  but, 
for  her,  it's  no  wonder  it's  half  killed  her, 
poor  dear !  We're  just  getting  overrun  with 
mice.  There !  she's  coming  to  now.  That's 
all  right,  dear  lady ! " 

Carrie  heard,  saw  mamma's  eyes  slowly  un- 
closing and  looking  up  at  papa ;  but  oh  !  how 
white  and  very  ill  she  looked  still.  She  heard 
and  ran,  anxious  to  shut  out  sight  and  hear- 
ing, — ran  out  of  the  room  upstairs  to  the  garret, 


244  Nellie's  Housekeeping, 

and,  squeezing  herself  behind  the  old  furniture 
in  the  place  where  she  had  hidden  the  mice, 
sobbed  and  cried  as  if  her  heart  would  break. 

What  if  mamma  was  not  dead,  as  she  had 
thought  at  first:  she  might  be  dying  still, 
must  be  very  ill  to  look  like  that,  and  she  had 
done  it.     It  was  all  her  fault. 


<~£J:K?^S^ 


XIII. 


AND  LAST  OF  THE  SUNBEAMS. 


OW  long  she  stayed  there  she  did  not 
know,  now  crying,  now  ceasing,  and 
crouched  there  in  a  kind  of  dumb 
remorse  and  misery  which  would  have  been 
a  severe  punishment  for  even  a  worse  fault 
than  that  of  which  she  had  been  guilty.  She 
wanted  to  come  out  and  learn  what  was  going 
on  downstairs,  and  yet  she  did  not  dare  to: 
she  felt  as  if  she  could  not  bear  to  see  that 
look  upon  mamma's  face  again.  Then  she 
would  shed  more  bitter  tears.  She  imagined 
and  wondered  over  many  things.  If  mamma 
died  and  went  to  heaven,  would   she  know 


246  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

what  she  had  done,  and  be  so  grieved  and  dis- 
pleased at  her  unkindness  that  she  would  love 
her  no  longer  ?  Were  people  in  heaven  ever 
troubled  about  the  naughty  things  their  loved 
ones  did  or  had  done  upon  the  earth  ? 

So  she  sat  all  in  a  heap,  behind  the  old 
chairs  and  tables,  perplexing  her  poor  little 
brain,  and  racking  her  heart  with  all  kind  of 
imaginary  consequences  to  this  morning's  oc- 
currence. By  and  by  she  heard  the  servants 
calling  her,  but  would  not  answer ;  then  her 
father's  voice,  but  now  she  believed  that  he 
must  know  all ;  "  it  had  come  out  in  some 
way,"  and  she  was  afraid  to  face  him  and  did 
not  stir.  Ruth  opened  the  door  at  the  foot  of 
the  garret  stairs  and  called  her  name,  even 
came  up  and  looked  about  the  open  space,  but 
did  not  see  Carrie  crouched  in  her  far  corner, 
and  the  little  girl  never  stirred  till  she  was 
gone. 

Next  she  heard  Nellie  calling  her  from 
the  garden  below,  her  voice  troubled  and 
anxious. 


And  Last  of  the  Sunbeams.        247 

"  Carrie,"  she  said,  "  Carrie,  dear !  where 
are  you  ?  Do  answer  if  you  can  hear  me. 
Mamma  is  growing  so  troubled  because  we 
can't  find  you." 

Here  was  a  scrap  of  comfort.  Mamma  was 
at  least  alive  enough  to  inquire  for,  and  be 
anxious  about  her.  She  crept  to  the  window 
and  looked  down  to  where  Nellie  stood,  calling 
still,  and  turning  her  eyes  in  every  direction. 

"  Here  I  am,  Nellie,  I'll  come  down,"  she 
answered,  ran  down  the  stairs,  opened  the 
door,  and  then,  her  courage  failing  her  once 
more,  stood  still  and  peeped  out. 

Papa  stood  at  the  door  of  mamma's  room, 
and  saw  her  at  once.  A  pale,  tear-stained, 
miserable  little  face  it  was  that  met  his  eye, 
and  stirred  his  pity. 

"  My  poor  little  woman !  "  he  said,  holding 
out  his  hand  to  her :  "  why,  how  woe-begone  you 
look.  Have  you  been  hiding  because  you  were 
frightened  about  mamma  ?  That  was  not 
worth  while,  and  mamma  has  been  asking  for 
you,  and  every  one  looking  for  you  this  ever 


248  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

so  long.  Come  and  see  mamma,  she  is  better 
now,  and  looks  like  herself  again." 

Carrie  came  forward,  still  with  hesitating 
steps  and  hanging  head ;  and  her  father,  tak- 
ing her  hand,  led  her  into  mamma's  room. 

Mrs.  Ransom  lay  upon  the  sofa,  looking 
very  white  still,  but  with  a  smile  upon  her  lips, 
and  her  eyes  bright  and  life-like  as  usual ;  and 
the  timid  glance  which  Carrie  gave  to  her 
mother's  face  reassured  her  very  much. 

Still  she  felt  so  guilty  and  conscious,  such  a 
longing  to  confess  all,  and  yet  so  ashamed  and 
afraid  to  do  it,  that  her  manner  remained  as 
confused  and  downcast  as  ever. 

Nellie  stood  behind  her  mother,  leaning  over 
the  head  of  the  couch,  and  looking  troubled 
and  anxious,  but  her  face  brightened  when  she 
saw  Carrie. 

Daisy,  with  the  most  solemn  of  faces,  was 
seated  in  a  little  chair  at  mamma's  feet,  gaz- 
ing silently  at  the  pages  of  "  Baxter's  Saint's 
Rest,"  held  upside  down.  Not  one  word  could 
Daisy  read,  she  barely  knew  her  letters ;  but 


And  Last  of  the  Sunbeams,         249 

she  had  found  Baxter  in  the  little  rack  which 
held  mamma's  books  of  devotional  reading, 
her  "prayers  books,"  Daisy  called  them;  and 
believing  any  work  she  found  there  must  be 
suitable  to  the  day,  and  the  state  of  mind  she 
considered  it  proper  to  maintain  while  mam- 
ma was  ill,  she  had  possessed  herself  of  it, 
and  was  now  fully  persuaded  that  she  was 
deriving  great  benefit  from  the  contents 
thereof. 

"  So  you  ran  away  from  mamma,"  said  Mrs. 
Kansom,  caressing  Carrie's  hand  as  she  buried 
her  face  in  the  sofa-pillows  beside  her  mother's. 
"  Did  she  frighten  you  so  ?  What  a  poor  fool- 
ish mamma  it  is  to  be  so  startled  at  such  a 
harmless  little  thing  as  a  mouse,  is  it  not, 
dearie  ?  I  hope  I  should  not  have  been  quite 
so  foolish  if  I  had  been  well  and  strong.  My 
poor  Carrie ! " 

Worse  and  worse  !  Here  was  mamma  blam- 
ing herself  and  pitying  her!  She  could  say 
nothing,  only  nestle  closer  to  her  mother,  and 
try  to  keep  back  the  sobs  which  were  strug- 
gling to  find  way. 


250  Nellie's  Housekeeping, 

Mrs.  Ransom  was  quite  well  again  by  after- 
noon, and  able  to  join  the  family  at  the  dinner- 
table  ;  but  although  the  spirits  of  the  other 
children  rose  with  her  recovery,  Carrie  still 
continued  dull  and  dispirited. 

She  accompanied  her  father  and  Nellie  to 
church  in  the  afternoon.  Happening  to  turn 
his  eyes  towards  her  during  the  service,  Mr. 
Eansom  saw  her  leaning  her  head  listlessly 
against  the  back  of  the  pew,  while  her  lips 
were  quivering  and  tears  slowly  coursing  one 
another  down  her  cheeks.  He  wondered  what 
could  cause  it.  There  was  nothing  in  the  ser- 
mon to  touch  her  feelings,  indeed  she  probably 
did  not  understand  one  word  of  it.  He  drew 
her  towards  him,  and  passing  his  arm  about 
her  let  her  rest  her  head  against  his  shoulder 
where  she  cried  quietly  for  a  few  moments, 
and  then,  as  if  this  had  relieved  her,  dried  her 
eyes  and  sat  up. 

Carrie  had  taken  a  resolution,  and  the  very 
taking  of  it  had  done  her  good,  and  made  her 
feel  less  guilty  and  unhappy.      Papa  was  so 


And  Last  of  the  Sunbeams,        251 

kind  and  good  that  she  began  to  think  that 
after  all  perhaps  it  would  not  be  so  very  hard 
to  tell  him  all,  and  confess  how  naughty  she 
had  been.  Even  if  he  punished  her  very  much, 
the  punishment  could  not  be  worse  to  bear 
than  this,  she  thought.  She  would  tell  him 
as  soon  as  they  reached  home,  and  she  could 
find  an  opportunity  to  talk  to  him  alone. 

But  alas  for  poor  Carrie's  hopes  of  unbur 
dening  her  mind  at  once  !  On  the  way  home 
from  church  a  gentleman  joined  her  father  and 
went  to  the  house  with  him,  came  in,  stayed 
to  tea,  and  actually  remained  all  the  evening, 
even  long  after  her  bedtime  and  Nellie's. 

Nor  was  this  the  last  drop  in  Carrie's  cup. 

Daisy  met  them  at  the  gate  when  they  re- 
turned from  church,  brimming  over  with  ex- 
citement, which  was  speedily  taken  down  when 
the  strange  gentleman,  laying  his  hand  on  her 
little  round  head,  turned  to  her  father  and 
isaid,  — 

"  Your  youngest  son,  Mr.  Ransom  ?  " 

"My  daughter,  —  another  little  daughter," 


252  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

said  Mr.  Ransom,  quickly,  knowing  Daisy's 
sensitiveness  on  this  point ;  but  the  wound  was 
given  past  recall,  and  the  stranger  was  hence- 
forth looked  upon  as  a  man  capable  of  break- 
ing any  and  every  commandment  among  the 
ten. 

"  I  s'pect  that  man  never  ermembers  the 
Sabbaf  day  to  keep  it  holy  ;  and  I  don't  b'lieve 
he  ever  says  his  p'ayers,"  said  Daisy,  severely, 
regarding  him  with  an  air  of  great  offence  as 
he  walked  on  with  her  father  to  the  house. 

"  I  think  he  does.  I  believe  he's  a  very 
nice  gentleman,"  said  Nellie,  much  amused. 

"  No,  I  fink  not,"  said  Daisy,  decidedly. 
"  I  b'ieve  he  slaps  his  wife  fee  times  ev'y  day. 
He  has  the  look  of  it." 

Nellie  laughed  outright. 

"  He  hasn't  any  wife,"  she  said. 

"  He'd  do  it  if  he  had  one  then,"  persisted 
Daisy,  who,  in  general  the  most  forgiving  and 
soft-hearted  of  little  mortals,  could  not  over- 
look the  offence  of  the  visitor,  "  'cause  he  calls 
people  sons.     Augh  !     People  that  slap  their 


And  Last  of  the  Sunbeams.        253 

wives  so  much  that  they  kill  'em  have  to  be 
took  to  prison,"  she  added  reflectively,  and  as 
if  she  found  some  consolation  in  the  thought. 
"  Hannah  told  me  so.  She  knew  a  man  that 
was." 

"  Hannah  had  no  business  to  tell  you 
such  stories  as  that,"  said  Nellie.  "  Mamma 
wouldn't  like  it  at  all,  Daisy." 

"  Then  I'll  tell  her  she  mustn't  do  it,"  said 
Daisy ;  "  but,  Nellie,  do  people  that  kill  mice 
have  to  be  took  to  prison  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Nellie,  "  mice  are  very  trouble- 
some and  mischievous,  so  it  is  not  wrong  to 
kill  them.  But  it  would  be  very  wicked  to 
tease  them  or  hurt  them  more  than  we  can 
help." 

"  I'm  glad  of  that,"  said  Daisy,  "  'cause  I 
wouldn't  like  you  and  Carrie  to  go  to  prison." 

"  No,  1  should  think  not,"  said  Nellie,  "  but 
Carrie  and  I  did  not  kill  a  mouse." 

"  Oh,  yes  !  you  did,"  said  Daisy,  "  least  you 
squeezed  him  up  in  the  bed  so  he  had  to  kill 
hisse'f  afterwards." 


254  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

"  0  Daisy ! "  said  Nellie. 

"  It's  the  truf,"  answered  Daisy,  as  one  who 
knows.  "  Hannah  found  him  'most  dead  in 
your  bed  this  morning,  'tween  the  mattresses, 
and  she  said  you  must  have  put  him  there  last 
night,  but  you  didn't  know  it,  and  afterwards 
he  killed  hisse'f  about  it.  I  saw  him  when  he 
was  dead,  and  going  to  be  frowed  away." 

Nellie  shuddered,  the  thought  was  very  pain- 
ful to  her  that  the  mouse  should  have  come  to 
his  death  in  such  a  way ;  but  Carrie  felt  worse 
still,  and  turning  round  and  resting  her  arm 
upon  the  back  of  a  rustic  chair  which  stood 
beneath  a  tree,  she  laid  her  head  upon  it,  and 
cried  as  she  had  done  in  the  morning  when  she 
was  hiding  in  the  garret.  Nellie  comforted 
her  as  well  as  she  could,  but  Carrie  was  hard 
to  be  consoled ;  and  felt  as  if  she  was  never  to 
hear  the  last  of  those  unlucky  mice,  and  the 
consequences  of  her  own  naughtiness. 

Mr.  Ransom  sat  up  late  that  night,  long 
after  his  visitor  had  left,  and  the  family  gone 
to  rest.     All  his  little  children  he  supposed  to 


And  Last  of  the  Sunbeams \         255 

be  long  since  fast  asleep ;  and  he  was  just 
preparing  to  turn  out  the  lights  and  go  up- 
stairs himself,  when  a  slight  sound  in  the  hall 
without  attracted  his  attention.  The  patter 
of  small  bare  feet  it  sounded  like,  and  the 
patter  of  small  bare  feet  it  was,  as  he  was  as- 
sured a  moment  later  when  a  little  white-clad 
figure  presented  itself  at  the  open  door,  and 
looked  wistfully  at  him  with  pitiful,  beseeching 
eyes. 

"  Carrie !  my  child !  are  you  ill  ?  What  is 
wrong  ? "  he  asked  in  much  surprise. 

"  No,  papa,  not  ill,  but,  —  but "  —  Tears 
choked  her  voice,  the  little  feet  ran  over  the 
floor,  and  she  had  clambered  upon  his  knee, 
and  with  her  face  hidden  in  his  bosom  sobbed 
out  her  confession. 

"  I've  been  awake  so  long,  papa,"  she  said, 
"  and  I  thought  I  never  could  go  to  sleep  till 
I  had  told  you,  and  I  could  not  wait  till  morn- 
ing, so  I  came  out  of  my  bed  down  here  to  find 
you.  Oh !  please  forgive  me,  and  do  you  think 
mamma  can  ever  forgive  me  for  being  so  cruel 


256  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

to  her,  and  trying  to  think  it  was  all  nonsense 
about  her  being  so  afraid  of  mice  ?  And  then 
to  think  that  poor  little  mouse  was  killed  just 
for  me !  Nellie  and  I  never  knew  he  was 
there  when  we  turned  the  bed  over,  but  he 
wouldn't  have  been  in  our  room  if  I  had  not 
brought  the  mice  upstairs  ;  and  now  Ruth  says 
she  don't  know  when  we'll  be  rid  of  them,  and 
mamma  will  be  troubled  and  frightened  with 
them  for  ever  so  long.  And  Nellie  and  Daisy 
have  been  real  helps  to  mamma,  and  I  talked 
so  much  about  helping  her  too,  but  I've  only 
been  a  bother  and  trouble  to  her,  and  never 
did  a  thing  for  her  after  all." 

All  this,  and  much  more,  the  sorrowful  little 
penitent  poured  into  her  father's  ear. 

Mr.  Ransom  had  no  mind  to  punish  or  scold 
her :  he  saw  that  she  was  already  sufficiently 
punished  by  the  remorse  and  anxiety  she  had 
brought  upon  herself,  and  he  thought  that 
this  was  likely  to  prove  a  lasting  lesson  to  her. 
Besides,  the  thing  was  quite  a  new  offence  of 
its  kind  ;  for  Carrie  was  generally  not  only 


And  Last  of  the  Sunbeams,        257 

obedient,  but  also  regardful  of  what  she  be- 
lieved to  be  her  mother's  wishes,  whether  ex- 
pressed or  not;  and  he  did  not  desire  to  be 
hard  with  her  now  that  she  saw  her  fault  so 
plainly,  and  was  in  such  a  humble,  repentant 
frame  of  mind. 

So  although  he  talked  seriously  to  her,  he 
did  so  very  kindly  and  quietly,  —  poor  Carrie 
thought  she  had  never  known  her  father  so 
kind, — nor  did  he  talk  very  long  that  night,  but 
soon  carried  her  up  to  bed  in  his  arms,  quite 
soothed  and  comforted ;  and  so  great  was  the 
relief  of  the  confession,  that  the  poor  little 
weary  head  was  scarcely  on  the  pillow  before 
she  was  fast  asleep. 

No  sooner  were  she  and  Nellie  awake  in  the 
morning  than  she  told  her  sister  the  whole 
story,  feeling  that  she  could  no  longer  keep 
the  secret  from  her,  but  making  her  promise 
not  to  tell  the  boys,  lest  they  should  tease 
her,  which  Carrie  felt  she  could  not  bear. 

The  hardest  of  all  was  yet  to  come,  the  con- 
fession to  her  dear,  gentle,   tender  mother. 

17 


258  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

Mamma  would  look  so  surprised  and  grieved, 
would  be  so  shocked  to  think  she  could  be  so 
cruelly  thoughtless. 

But  it  was  gone  through  with  bravely,  not 
very  steadily  it  is  true,  for  Carrie's  voice 
failed  her  more  than  once,  but  she  did  not 
attempt  to  hide  or  excuse  any  thing. 

And  oh!  how  much  lighter  her  heart  was 
when  it  was  over,  and  mamma  knew  the 
worst. 

Perhaps  Mrs.  Ransom  was  not  as  much  sur- 
prised as  Carrie  had  expected  she  would  be : 
it  may  be  that  she  was  prepared  to  hear  the 
story  which  Carrie  had  believed  would  shock 
and  distress  her  so  much  ;  and  the  readiness 
with  which  she  granted  her  forgiveness  but 
made  her  little  daughter  feel  all  the  more  re- 
pentant for  having  been  so  heedless  of  her 
comfort. 

It  was  a  healing  repentance  now,  though, 
with  the  sting  and  bitterness  gone  from  it; 
and  Carrie  felt  as  if  she  should  never  be  fret 
ful  and  cross  again ;  no,  not  even  with  Ruth 


And  Last  of  the  Sunbeams,         259 

She  would  try  to  be  so  helpful,  so  considerate 
and  good  now,  she  thought;  but  she  would 
make  no  "  fuss  "  about  it,  or  talk  as  though 
she  meant  to  do  such  very  fine  things,  only  to 
fail  after  all  perhaps. 

Nellie  and  Daisy  had  said  and  promised  far 
less  than  she  had  done,  but  their  actions  had 
spoken  for  them. 

"  What  is  that  you  are  doing,  Nellie  ?  "  she 
asked,  when  all  the  little  housekeeping  tasks 
accomplished,  her  reading  and  practising  fin- 
ished, Nellie  brought  her  workbox  and  sat 
down  to  sew.  "  Why  !  those  are  the  slippers 
mamma  was  going  to  work  for  Johnny,  are 
they  not  ? " 

"  Yes,"  said  Nellie. 

"  And  are  you  going  to  help  her  with 
them  ?  " 

M  I  am  going  to  work  them  all,"  answered 
Nellie.  "  Mamma  began  them,  but  she  found 
it  tired  her  eyes,  and  she  was  anxious  that 
Johnny  should  not  be  disappointed,  so  I  told 
hei  I  would  work  them." 


260  Nellies  Housekeeping. 

Carrie  sat  a  moment  silent. 

"  And  I  suppose,"  she  said  at  length,  "  that 
that  was  the  reason  you  said  you  would  not 
have  time  to  make  the  bracket  for  mamma  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Nellie,  quietly. 

"  0  Nellie  !  "  said  Carrie,  "  how  much 
better  you  are  than  I  am.  You  are  a  real, 
true  help  to  mamma :  you  think  of  and  you  do 
what  is  really  useful  to  her,  but  you  don't  talk 
about  doing  such  great  things.  And  Daisy, 
too  ;  when  I  think  about  her  giving  up  her 
white  mice  that  she  really  had  a  right  to  keep, 
'cause  mamma  said  she  could,  I  do  feel  too 
ashamed  and  mean  for  any  thing.  Nellie,"  — 
after  another  little  thoughtful  pause, —  "  do  you 
think  a  good  way  to  show  mamma  how  sorry 
I  am  would  be  to  spend  all  my  saved-up  money 
for  mouse-traps?  " 

4<  Well,  no,  1  don't,"  said  Nellie.  "  I  do  not 
think  that  would  do  any  good,  for  papa  has 
bought  several  this  morning  ;  and  there  is  one 
set  in  every  room  in  the  house,  so  that  we  hope 
the  mice  will  soon  all  be  caught." 


And  Last  of  the  Sunbeams,        261 

"  Then  what  can  I  do  to  show  mamma  how 
sorry  lam?"  asked  Carrie. 

"I  think  mamma  knows  it  already,  dear; 
and  the  best  way  is  just  to  be  careful  to  think 
about  what  she  would  like,  and  then  to  be  very 
sure  to  do  it; — and — and  I  think  one  good 
way  would  be  not  to  quarrel  with  Ruth,  and 
not  to  make  trouble  in  the  nursery." 

"  Ruth  is  so  hateful,"  murmured  Carrie. 

"  I  don't  think  Ruth  would  be  cross  to  you 
if  you  would  be  a  little  more  patient  and  good 
in  the  nursery,"  said  Nellie.  "You  know, 
Carrie,  dear,  how  often  poor  mamma  has  to  go 
to  the  nursery  to  make  peace,  or  to  take  the 
baby,  because  you  will  not  wait  for  what  you 
want,  or  will  not  stand  quiet  to  be  dressed,  or 
something  like  that." 

"  Yes,"  owned  Carrie,  half  reluctantly,  "  and 
Ruth  never  does  be  cross  to  you  or  Daisy; 
and  when  I  am  good  she  is  pretty  decent. 
But,  Nellie,  such  things  as  that  do  not  seem 
like  a  real  help." 

"  But  they  are.  the  best  help :  mamma  says 


262  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

so,  and  I've  found  it  out  for  myself,  Carrie," 
said  Nellie. 

"  Nellie,  would  you  ever  have  believed  that 
I  could  do  such  a  thing  as  to  keep  those 
mice  ?" 

"  I  was  surprised  when  you  told  me,"  an- 
swered her  sister,  "  but  I  was  just  thinking, 
Carrie,  that  it  was  really  not  so  very  much 
worse  than  the  way  I  behaved  while  I  was 
studying  so  much  and  tiring  myself  out  over 
those  '  Bible  subjects.'  I  think  I  was  horrid  to 
mamma  and  to  all  of  you  then." 

"  Yes,  you  were,"  said  tactless  Carrie. 

"  I  was  thinking  so  much  more  about  being 
wise  and  knowing  a  great  deal  than  about 
being  good  and  a  help  to  mamma,"  continued 
Nellie,  not  offended,  though  she  had  winced  a 
little  at  Carrie's  plain  speaking,  "  that  it  seems 
to  me  now  that  I  was  almost  as  naughty  as  — ■ 
as"  — 

"  As  I  was  to  keep  the  mice  ? "  said  Carrie. 

"Yes,  as  you  were  to  keep  the  mice.  I 
don't  think  I  thought  any  more  about  mamma 


And  Last  of  the  Sunbeams,        263 

than  you  did,  and  I  know  several  times  I  made 
a  good  deal  of  trouble  for  her  which  might 
have  been  helped  if  I  had  been  more  care- 
ful." 

"  You've  quite  given  up  your  Bible  subjects, 
haven't  you  ?  "  asked  Carrie. 

"  Yes,  I  made  up  my  mind  to  be  contented 
with  those  I  had.  They  would  show  Miss 
Ashton  I  had  thought  of  what  she  said,  but  I 
know  she  would  think  it  was  right  for  me  to 
leave  them.  I've  made  up  my  mind  too, 
Carrie,  not  to  be  so  very  anxious  about  my 
books  and  studies." 

Here  Daisy  came  running  up  to  them. 

"  Nellie,  what' 11  make  me  grow  very  fast  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Nellie :  "  what  do  you 
want  to  grow  very  fast  for  ?  " 

"  So  I  can  have  a  birdie,"  said  Daisy.  "  Papa 
said  I  was  too  little  now,  least  he  said  he  would 
give  me  one  when  I  was  bigger.  If  I  was  to 
plant  myse'f  and  then  pour  water  on  my  foots 
like  they  do  on  the  flowers'  foots,  then  wouldn't 
I  grow  pretty  fast  ?  " 


264  JVelh'e's  Housekeeping, 

"  No,"  said  Nellie,  "  you'd  only  be  all  wet 
and  muddy,  and  then  you'd  be  sick." 

Daisy  sighed. 

"  Oh,  I  do  want  a  birdie  so,"  she  said.  "  I'd 
love  my  birdie  more'n  my  white  mice ;  oh !  a 
great  deal  more.  Nellie,  if  I  was  a  birdie,  or 
a  white  mouse,  would  you  love  me  the  most  ?  " 

"  I'd  love  you  whatever  you  were,"  said 
Nellie,  turning  to  kiss  the  sweet,  dimpled 
cheek  beside  her  :  "  I  couldn't  help  it." 

"If  I  was  an  ugly  bug  crawling  about, 
would  you  love  me  ?  "  questioned  Daisy     ' 

Nellie  laughed. 

"  Yes,  I'd  try  to,"  she  answered. 

"  Nellie,  if  I  was  that  ugly  bug  crawling 
about,  would  you  smash  me  ?  " 

"  Not  if  you  were  not  doing  any  harm,"  said 
Nellie.     "  That  would  be  cruel." 

"  I'm  glad,"  said  Daisy,  with  unmistakable 
signs  of  relief  in  the  assurance.  "  I  wouldn't 
like  my  sister  to  smash  me  even  if  I  was  a  bug. 
Nellie,  mamma  said  God  sometimes  made  peo- 
ple sorry  'cause  He  thought  it  was  good  for 


And  Last  of  the  Sunbeams,        265 

'em  to  make  'em  better :  does  He  send  bugs 
and  spiders  'cause  it  is  good  for  'em  too,  and 
birdies  just  to  make  'em  glad  ?  " 

Daisy's  questions  were  sometimes  quite  be- 
yond Nellie's  powers  of  answering :  indeed  they 
often  puzzled  older  and  wiser  people.  But  she 
tried  to  explain  to  her  little  sister  that  even 
bugs  and  spiders  were  made  for  some  good  pur- 
pose ;  and  after  this  Daisy  looked  with  more 
respect  upon  those  obnoxious  creatures,  and 
was  even  upon  one  occasion  heard  to  say,  - — 

"  Good,  little,  very  ugly  spider,  maybe  God 
has  some  work  for  you  to  do,  so  I  won't  smash 
you,  but  let  you  do  it." 

While  Nellie  was  talking  to  Daisy,  Carrie 
rose  and  went  in  search  of  her  father.  She 
found  him  in  the  library. 

"  Papa,"  she  said,  going  close  to  him,  "  I 
think  I  ought  to  ask  you  to  give  my  bird  to 
Daisy.  She  deserves  it  a  great  deal  more  than 
I  do  for  giving  up  her  white  mice,  and  I  do  not 
think  I  ought  to  have  it.  Nellie  will  take  care 
of  it  foi  her,  and  she  does  want  a  bird  so 
much." 


266  Nellie's  Housekeeping. 

Mr.  Eansom  lifted  her  upon  his  knee. 

"  You  really  think  this,  Carrie  ?  You  really 
wish  that  Daisy  should  have  your  bird  ?  " 

"  Yes,  papa,  it  really  seems  the  most  right 
for  her  to  have  it.  I  thought  so  ever  since  you 
brought  the  birds  home  and  she  wanted  one  so 
much,  but  I  felt  as  if  I  could  not  tell  you  to 
give  her  mine ;  but  now  I  think  I  would  feel 
better  if  you  let  her  have  it  instead  of  me." 

"  Do  as  you  please,  my  dear  child,"  said  her 
father,  kissing  her.  "  Daisy  certainly  does 
deserve  a  reward  for  her  self-sacrifice." 

To  describe  Daisy's  delight  when  Carrie 
took  her  up  stairs,  and  leading  her  up  to  the 
bird  said  that  it  was  hers,  would  be  quite  im- 
possible. 

"  Are  you  sure  you  don't  mind,  Carrie  ? 
Would  you  just  as  lieve  I'd  have  him,  for  my 
own?"  she  exclaimed.  "Oh!  lam  so  glad, 
so  glad !  When  I  have  a  camel  wif  two  humps 
on  his  back,  I'll  give  him  to  you,  Carrie, — I 
really  will." 

The  bird  was  henceforth  called  Daisy's,  but 


And  Last  of  the  Sunbeams.        267 

I  believe  that  lie  afforded  quite  as  much  satis- 
faction to  the  former  little  owner  as  he  did  to 
the  present  one ;  for  she  had  the  care  of  him 
as  much  as  if  she  had  kept  him  for  her  own ; 
and  it  was  thought  best  that  he  should  still 
hang  in  her  room  so  that  he  might  not  be 
separated  from  Nellie's  bird. 

And  now  good-by  to  my  "  Little  Sunbeams." 
If  they  have  shed  light  in  any  shady  places, 
brightened  any  youthful  eyes,  or  cheered  any 
innocent  hearts ;  if  they  have  poured  even  the 
faintest  ray  upon  the  safe  and  narrow  path 
which  leadeth  upward  to  Eternal  Light,  —  the 
recompense  is  great ;  and  may  the  blessing  of 
the  Master  go  with  them,  and  prosper  them, 
it  may  be,  for  His  glory. 


53©  Broadway,  New  York, 
October,  1880. 


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